§ Mr. Canavanasked the Prime Minister what is the average annual cost to the Government of educating a person (a) in the United Kingdom university system as a whole, (b) at the university of Stirling and (c) at the European Institute in Florence.
§ The Prime MinisterThe average cost to the Government of educating a person at a university in the United Kingdom for the last year for which comprehensive information is available—1979–80—was approximately £6,000 revalued at current prices. The comparable figure for Stirling was approximately £5,500 on the same price basis.
These figures have been calculated by relating the recurrent institutional costs to the number of students and adding a figure for average maintenance grant less parental contribution. As the primary objective of the European University Institute is research, no valid comparison can be made on this basis for that institution.
Comparisons between the cost of educating a person at a particular United Kingdom university and the average cost have to be viewed in the light of the mix of subjects—for example, the proportion of science and engineering courses—and length of courses offered at the institution concerned.