§ Mrs. DunwoodyTo ask the Secretary of State for Education what percentage of 18-year-olds are in higher education in(a) the United Kingdom, (b) the United States of America and (c) Japan.
§ Mr. FormanThe readily available figures are given in the table and represent participation at all ages—generally 18 and over.
New entrants1 to higher education, 1988 Country (main ages on entry) Participation rate2 (percentage) Japan3 18 37–52 United Kingdom4 18–21 37 United States of America5 18 33–65 1Includes full-time and part-time students entering higher education for the first time i.e. excluding postgraduate students and others already having a qualification in higher education. 2To aid comparison and overcome the problem of the varying lengths of courses in different countries, the participation rate is the percentage of all new entrants (defined above) to a derived relevant single year group. The latter is calculated by taking the total populations for the ages providing at least 70 per cent, of the new entrants and dividing by the number of ages involved. For the United Kingdom this is the population of ages 18 to 21 divided by 4. OECD recommend this procedure. 3 The higher figure shown includes data for advanced special training schools (SENSHU') which may be equivalent to sub-degree higher education. 4Excludes the private sector and students from abroad. Includes nursing and paramedical students at Health Department establishments. 5The lower figure excludes students on two-year courses, some of which may not be equivalent to sub-degree higher education.