Nepal earthquake: Rescue resumes after latest deadly tremor
The top performer, Singapore, had high levels of illiteracy into the 1960s, said Mr Schleicher, showing how much progress could be made.
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In the UK, the study shows about one in five youngsters leave school without reaching a basic level of education – and the OECD says that reducing this number and improving skills could add trillions of dollars to the UK economy.
“I think it’s partly a mindset, an expectation. There are plenty of examples of schools that have raised the bar dramatically,” said education minister Lord Nash.
The analysis, based on test scores in maths and science, is a much wider global map of education standards than the OECD’s Pisa tests, which focus on more affluent industrialised countries.
"It is a devastating scene," he told reporters. "Never seen anything like this in my life."
"We walked the entire length of the train area. The engine [is] completely separated from the rest of the train and one of the cars is perpendicular to the rest of the cars. It's unbelievable."
Mr Nutter also said that, according to preliminary information, 243 people were on the train. Not all had been accounted for, he said.
A fire official was quoted as saying that more than 50 people were taken to hospital, six of them critically injured.
But the true extent of the casualties and damage remains unclear.
Home Minister Bam Dev Gautam said: "Many houses have collapsed in Dolakha... there is a chance that the number of dead from the district will go up."
Regine Kopplow, a German aid worker in Charikot said: "I saw a woman in the building opposite jump from the third floor who suffered injuries to her leg, elbow and hand.
"People stayed outside, the shaking continued. Some people were crying, hugging each other."
The US military said a Marine Corps Huey helicopter involved in disaster relief efforts had gone missing while working in the vicinity of Charikot.
The Pentagon said there were six US Marines and two Nepali soldiers on board. It said there was as yet no sign of a crash and the craft may have landed safely, amid reports of fuel issues.
A Nepalese army helicopter is searching for the missing aircraft.
The Red Cross said it had received reports of many casualties in the town of Chautara in Sindhupalchowk, where it has a hospital and which has become a hub for humanitarian aid.
Spokeswoman Nichola Jones said: "Hundreds of people are pouring in. They are treating dozens for injuries and they have performed more than a dozen surgeries."
At least two major buildings collapsed in Kathmandu, with at least three people rescued.
But there have been other reports of landslides and fallen buildings in towns and villages outside the capital.
Save the Children said Gorkha, close to the epicentre of the 25 April quake, had been hit by new landslides. A spokeswoman told the BBC its staff had been "dodging huge rocks rolling off the hillside".
Residents of Namche Bazaar said there was some damage there but no reports of deaths.
The BBC's Navin Singh Khadka says local officials in the Everest region report very few tourists are still in the area following the 25 April quake.
Many residents of the capital and other towns spent Tuesday night outdoors, too scared to return to homes.
Dipak Koirala, who lives in Ramechhap district, told AFP news agency: "I was thinking of moving to a rented room, but today was so scary I can't risk my family's life."
Sulav Singh, who lives in Kathmandu, told the Associated Press: "I thought I was going to die this time. Things were just getting back to normal, and we get this one."
Politicians on Tuesday fled Nepal's parliament chamber in Kathmandu as the quake hit.
Prime Minister Sushil Koirala said later: "At an hour of a natural disaster like this, we have to face it with courage and patience."
The BBC's Yogita Limaye, who was in Nepal's mountains when the latest earthquake struck, said: "The earth shook and it shook for a pretty long time.
"I can completely understand the sense of panic. We have been seeing tremors - it's been two-and-a-half weeks since the first quake. But this one really felt like it went on for a really long time. People have been terrified."
Credit: BBC
