section_path: Demographics/Education
section_name: Education
paragraph_text: Education
  
  Education in the United Kingdom is a devolved matter, with each country having a separate education system. About 38 per cent of the United Kingdom population has a university or college degree, which is the highest percentage in Europe, and amongst the highest percentage in the world. The UK is home to many universities, including the University of Oxford and University of Cambridge, which often achieve first place on global rankings.
  
  University education has varied tuition fees in different regions of the UK. England and Wales have a fixed maximum annual fee for all UK citizens, contingent on attaining a certain level of income. Only those who reach a certain salary threshold pay this fee through general taxation. Northern Ireland and Scotland have a reduced maximum fee or no fee for citizens where it is their home region. Some NHS courses have bursaries which pay the fee and in 2017 it was stated that each doctor gets subsidised by £230,000 during their training.
  
  In 2022 the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), coordinated by the OECD, ranked the overall knowledge and skills of British 15-year-olds as 14th in the world in reading, mathematics and science. The average British student scored 494, above the OECD average of 478.