Asia is surpassing Europe in skilled manpower?

The title of this post may seem to be a bit awkward to many of the readers. When I read the news in http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4801058.stm I felt surprised too. I never like to think that Asian students are less talented or less hard working than Europeans. I just feel that European countries have much more money to invest in education and research than Asian countries. That is why at first I felt surprised to know that Asian countries are indeed gradually surpassing European countries in terms of education skills of their people.
Japan has already one of the best education systems in the world and the key to Japan's success in business has been its international standard education system. India and China are coming forward very quickly in this regard too. Indian graduates have already rocked the world in the field of outsourcing of IT enabled services and software development. One of the most important factors behind's China's rapid economic development is also its educated and skilled manpower. However, the best record holder in Asia is South Korea. 45 Years ago, South Korea was among the poorest countries in the world with very poor education system. Now, South Korea can proudly boast that it has got an edge in terms of educated and skilled manpower both in quantity and quality. In sharp contrast, major European countries like France and Germany are falling behind day by day. They are simply failing to adjust to the challenges of growing demand for quality education. The worst thing for Europe seems to be that higher education is becoming more and more a thing for the rich because of rising education expenses. On the other hand, traditionally parents in Asian countries always try to give most priority to the educational expenses of their children.
Quality and quantity of education is perhaps the most important factor that affects the economy of a country. If the current trend in skill development continues then 21st century will really be the Asian century.