§ Mrs. Virginia Bottomleyasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what additional grant the Open university will receive over the next financial years.
§ Mr. Kenneth BakerI am pleased to announced that the Open university will receive an additional £4.8 million in grant over the financial years 1987–88 to 1989–90. The university already plans to admit an extra 1,500 students on to its undergraduate programme in 1987. It will now be able to offer places to a further 2,000 students in 1988, which will raise the annual intake from 22,000 to 24,000. This will mean that an extra 6,000 students will be offered a place between 1988 and 1990. Two thirds of these additional students will take mathematics, science and technology courses.
About £1.5 million of the money will be used to give further support to mathematics, physics and technology teaching in schools. This will include the development of in-service training packages for physics teachers, and other activities.
In reaching my decision I received the advice of the Open university visiting committee, a copy of whose report has been placed in the Library.