A new survey shows that the ratio of teachers to students in South Korean are substandard to that of many other developed nations.

The Education Ministry on Thursday announced its annual index dubbed Education at a Glance published by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development(OECD), which surveyed its 38 member countries and eight non-member states. 

According to the index, the average number of students per teacher at elementary schools in South Korea stood at 16-point-six in 2019, hovering above the OECD average of 14-point-five. 

On the other hand, the comparative figures for South Korean middle and high schools were 13 and 11-point-four, respectively, lower than the OECD average of 13-point-one and 13.

As for the number of students per class at the elementary and middle school levels in South Korea stood at 23 and 26-point-one, surpassing OECD averages of  21-point-one and 23-point-three, respectively.

Meanwhile, the latest index also showed South Korea spent five-point-one percent of its gross domestic product in public education from elementary school to college in 2018, compared to an OECD average of four-point-nine percent.