European Economic Community

HC Deb 08 May 1972 vol 836 cc283-4W

Mr. Knox

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science from information available from international sources, what has been the percentage increase since 1958–59 in the number undergoing full and part-time education in the European Economic Community; and how this compares with the percentage increase during the same period in England and Wales.

Mr. van Straubenzee:

A comparison is not readily available in the exact form requested. The percentage increases in full-time and part-time enrolments in the European Economic Community between 1955 and 1967–68 derived from the latest figures available in the UNESCO Statistical Year Book for 1970 are given below.

First and Second Level, 28.

Third Level, 185 (excluding Belgium).

The increases for England and Wales between 1955 and 1968 on a similar basis were:

First and Second Level, 19.

Third Level, 234.

First and second level figures include all years of compulsory education. However, the education systems of the various countries have salient differences which can affect the comparability of all these figures, and care must be exercised in any use made of them.