§ Mr. Andrew F. BennettTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will publish in theOfficial Report the number of students in (a) universities, (b) PSHE institutions and (c) all higher education institutions, from social group III M, social group IV and social group V, for each year since 1979, and list these figures as a percentage of the total number of students of known social group in each sector.
Mr. JacksonThe numbers and percentages of United Kingdom domiciled candidates accepted through the Universities Central Council on Admissions for entry to United Kingdom universities whose social class background is known are shown in the table.
Similar information is not collected by the Polytechnic Central Admissions System, but a sample survey of young people attempting examinations qualifying them for HE entry in 1985 indicated that about 26 per cent. of young entrants to PSHE institutions were from social classes M, IV and V.
(d) polytechnics, (e) universities and (f) other educational establishments, separating them by age into single years from 16 to 20 years and in bands aged 21 to 24 years, 25 to 29 years, 30 to 39 years, 40 to 49 years and 50 years and over.
Mr. JacksonThe readily available information is as follows. Sixth-form colleges are included in the figures for schools.
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Age at 31 August 1986 16 17 18 Total 16 to 18 19 to 20 21 to 24 25 and over All students Part-time students Higher education courses University (excluding Open University) — — — — 1 6 37 45 Open University4 — — — — — 5 74 80 Polytechnics (England and Wales) — — 1 2 7 16 31 56 Other higher education — 1 9 9 30 42 93 174 Total part-time higher education5 — 1 10 12 39 69 235 354 Further education6 212 172 183 567 224 469 1,861 3,121 Total part-time students 212 174 192 579 263 539 2,096 3,476 Source: Education statistics for the United Kingdom, 1988 edition (pre-publication extracts).
1 Schools data for Scotland relate to 1987–88.
2 Including 6,055 students (4,598 men) in polytechnics (and central institutions in Scotland).
3 Including central institutions in Scotland.
4 Provisional. Excluding some 1,300 students for whom data by age are not available.
5 Excluding 95,100 (provisional) students enrolled on nursing and paramedical courses at Department of Health and Social Services establishments.
6 Including 11,084 students (5,561 men) in polytechnics in England and Wales. Including estimated age detail for 1,663,000 students aged 16 years or more in adult education centres; excluding youth clubs and centres, 77,000 in 1984–85 (England). Excluding 531,000 (provisional) students on courses run by responsible bodies for whom age detail was not available.
§ Mr. Andrew F. BennettTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what has been the total number of home full-time and sandwich students in higher education in each year since 1979; what has been the total full-time equivalent number of part-time students in higher
Student numbers—Academic year beginning in Thousands 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 Higher education United Kingdom domiciled Full-time and sandwich 510.1 520.4 541.5 553.1 565.1 573.3 583.5 596.1 608.7 Part-time 267.7 280.8 290.0 296.6 306.2 308.5 325.8 348.9 359.5 Full-time equivalent1 of part-time 93.7 98.3 101.5 103.8 107.2 108.0 114.0 122.1 125.7 United Kingdom domiciled entrants to University Undergraduates 75.7 77.4 74.0 71.5 69.2 70.5 70.3 70.7 72.5 1 Defined as 35 per cent. of part-time students.
§ Mr. Andrew F. BennettTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what information he has as to the age participation index for students in full-time advanced further education in each country in the European Community.
Mr. JacksonThe readily available information as follows:
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New entrants1 to higher education Country2 (main ages on entry) Latest year 3 Participation rate (percentage) Denmark (18–20) 1985 35 France (18–20) 1985 32 Germany, West (19–21) 1985 25 Greece4 1984 38 Ireland4 1985 35 Italy (19–21) 1986 25 Netherlands (18–20) 1985 38 Portugal4 1984 14 Spain (18–20) 1985 31 United Kingdom6 (18–21) 1986 32 1 Includes full-time and part-time students entering higher education for the first time ie excluding postgraduate students and others already having a qualification in higher education. Not all other countries may adhere to this general definition. 2 Compatible information is not available for Luxembourg since most higher education is undertaken abroad. Ireland figures partly estimated; data for Belgium was not available. education in each year since 1979; and what has been the total number of home full-time entrants to universities in each year since 1979.
Mr. JacksonThe information required is shown in the following table.
3 To aid comparison and overcome the problem of the varying lengths of courses in different countries the participation rate used is the percentage of all new entrants (defined above) to a derived relevant single year group. The latter is calculated by taking the total populations for the ages providing at least 70 per cent. of the new entrants and dividing by the number of ages involved. For the United Kingdom this is the population of ages 18 to 21 divided by 4, OECD recommend this procedure.
4 Main ages on entry unavailable.
5 Includes new entrants to postgraduate courses.
6 Excludes the private sector and students from abroad. Includes nursing and paramedical students at Health Department establishments.