§ Mr. BeggsTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many further education students enrolled in vocational courses in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years. [133874]
§ Jane KennedyThe following table provides information relating to vocational enrolments in Northern Ireland Further Education Colleges from 1998/99 to 2001/02. The data details all enrolments on vocational courses at levels of study 1-5, over the entire academic year. Full year data has only been collected since 1998/99, and 2001/02 is the most recent year for which this information is available.
Enrolments 2001/02 121,930 2000/01 130,744 1999/2000 124,219 1998/99 117,376 Note:
The drop in enrolments for 2001/02 can be attributed to: (i) the reduction in the number of Further Education Colleges from 17 to 16 (following the merger of NIHCC with the University of Ulster) and (ii) changes regarding the re-alignment of vocational/non- vocational computing courses.