HC Deb 11 March 1981 vol 1000 cc346-7W
Mr. Kinnock

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether the increase in tuition fees for students from Hong Kong has affected the number of students from Hong Kong; and how this compares with other countries inside and outside the Commonwealth.

Mr. Mark Carlisle

Provisional figures of new entrants from Hong Kong, other Commonwealth countries and all non-Commonwealth countries to universities in Great Britain in October 1980 are given in the following table, together with figures for the previous year at December 1979:

Undergraduates postgraduates Total
1979–80 1980–81 (Provisional) 1979–80 1980–81 (Provisional) 1979–80 1980–81 (Provisional)
Hong Kong 707 757 339 277 1,046 1,034
Remainder of Commonwealth 2,793 2,464 3,551 3,196 6,344 5,660
Other countries 3,331 3,096 6,292 4,896 9,623 7,992
TOTAL (all countries) 6,831 6,317 10,182 8,369 17,013 14,686
Comparable information for public sector institutions for 1980–81 is not yet available.
Other factors besides the increase in tuition fees could well have contributed to the changes that have occurred.