§ Mr. BrakeTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many Iraqi students are currently attending British universities; if he will list the subjects which they are studying; and what assessment he has made of the sources of their funding. [29303]
§ Dr. HowellsThe latest figures for the 1996–97 academic year show that there were 143 Iraqi students on higher education courses in higher education establishments in the UK. Their subject of study and source of funding are given in the table.
Major source of tuition fees: Number English or Welsh LEA/SOEID/DENI award 10 Other UK sources1 7 Overseas government/funding 16 No award or financial backing (pays own fees) 66 Institutional waiver/no fees 23 Other sources of support 13 Not known 8 Total 143 Subject of Study: Engineering/Technology 51 Physical sciences 19 Medicine/dentistry 14 Business/Administrative studies 10 Mathematical/computing science 10 Subjects allied to medicine 9 Biological sciences 7 Languages 5 Other science 5 Law 4 Creative arts and design 3 Social/economic/political studies 3 Education 2 Combined studies 1 Total 143 1 Includes Research Councils, Government departments, Training Councils, and UK industry and commerce.