HC Deb 13 May 1980 vol 984 c433W
Mr. John Page

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he is satisfied that he is in possession of accurate numbers of overseas persons studying in the United Kingdom at Government and non-governmental places of instruction.

Mr. Mark Carlisle

For the purposes of the statistics required by my Department, the definition of an overseas student is the same as that concerning the requirement to pay fees at the overseas rate. Separate statistics are collected for universities by the University Grants Committee and for maintained, assisted and grant-aided establishments of further education by my Department. In both cases the classification of individual students as " overseas" is determined by the individual establishment concerned. I am satisfied with the statistics collected on this basis.