Iceland is to restructure its education system amid growing concerns about a shortage of male graduates.

Just 28 per cent of graduates from the University of Iceland ¨C the country¡¯s largest ¨C were male in 2017, down from 41?per cent in 2001. This decline has prompted politicians to take action.

In an interview with the radio station R¨¢s?1, Lilja Alfre?sd¨®ttir, Iceland¡¯s minister of education, science and culture, revealed that work was under way to create a long-term plan for education until 2030, the reported.

Ms Alfre?sd¨®ttir explained that the Icelandic authorities were seeking inspiration from Norway, which has just introduced a substantial package of educational reforms.

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¡°I am meeting with the Norwegian minister of education next week to familiarise myself thoroughly with their improvements,¡± she said, adding that she had recently attended a meeting at the University of Iceland ¡°where it was revealed that 70?per cent of graduates [this year] are women¡±.

Last year, the university¡¯s president, J¨®n Atli Benediktsson, told the news website that graduation rates for men had declined gradually since the turn of the millennium.

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¡°It¡¯s a worrying state of affairs that men are enrolling in lower numbers to the university,¡± said Professor Benediktsson. ¡°It¡¯s a trend that needs to be turned, but it will take time.¡±

Female students vastly outnumber?male students in nearly all departments at the University of Iceland, except for engineering and the natural sciences, he added.

¡°It matters that the society is balanced in terms of gender in the labour market [and] that there isn¡¯t a gender gap in the labour market in certain fields,¡± Professor Benediktsson said.

jack.grove@timeshighereducation.com