§ Mr. Freudasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many students of over 21 years of age were accepted on to (a) courses of higher education and (b) university courses, excluding postgraduate courses, in each of the last 10 years; how many such students it is planned to accept in 1985, 1990 and 1995; and if he will make a statement on the Government's policy towards demand for higher education from mature students.
§ Mr. BrookeThe table gives the numbers of home full-time students aged 21 and over entering a course of higher education for the first time thus excluding postgraduates. The Department's 1983 projections published in "Report on Education No. 99" assume that the total number of such 215W entrants will fall to 34,000 to 35,000 in 1985–86, 27,000 to 29,000 in 1990–91 and 24,000 to 26,000 in 1995–96. No separate projections for the universities are available. The assumptions underlying the projections of both young and mature students are currently under review and I plan to issue revised projections by around Easter. The Government's expenditure plans are based upon meeting the lower limit of qualified demand from both young and mature students. If there is evidence that an even larger proportion of those qualified is seeking to enter higher education, the Government will review the position.
Home Full-time Initial Entrants to Higher Education Aged 21 and over (Great Britain, 000s) Universities All higher education (including universities) 1973–74 7.9 29.7 1974–75 8.6 30.6 1975–76 8.9 31.4 1976–77 9.1 33.3 1977–78 8.8 30.2 1978–79 9.8 32.4 1979–80 9.7 34.3 1980–81 9.5 33.7 1981–82 8.9 36.2 1982.83 8.2 35.8