§ 31. Mr. Silvesterasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what proportion of students at polytechnics is currently reading arts, social science and scientific subjects, respectively; and how this compares with university undergraduates.
§ Mr. FowlerThe figures for last autumn are not yet available. The first polytechnics were not established until January, 1969, but, with permission, I will circulate in the OFFICIAL REPORT some relevant figures for the autumn of 1968 in respect of those institutions from which polytechnics were to be formed.
§ Mr. SilvesterDoes not the Minister agree that it is important to resist any tendency for polytechnics to cover all the services of universities, and that the bias towards engineering and scientific subjects should be strictly maintained?
§ Mr. FowlerAs the hon. Gentleman knows, I have uttered on this subject many times. I certainly hope that polytechnics will not ape the universities, and I have done my best to deter them from doing so.
§ Following is the information :
| Full-time and sandwich advanced course students in the further education establishments from which polytechnics were to be formed (November 1968) | Full-time Undergraduate students in universities in England and Wales (December 1968) | |
| (1) | (2) | (3) |
| Per cent. | Per cent. | |
| Arts | 13.4 | 21.8 |
| Science | 46.2 | 55.3 |
| Other | 40.4 | 22.9 |
| 100.0 | 100.0 |