HC Deb 05 November 1999 vol 337 c332W
Mr. John D. Taylor

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many new enrolments there were in each of the past three years into each of the agricultural colleges; and if he will make a statement. [94441]

Mr. George Howarth

The new enrolments on full-time and part-time courses at DANI Colleges for the last two completed academic years and for the present academic year to mid-October were as follows:

New full-time and part-time enrolments 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000
Enniskillen College of Agriculture 180 156 1155
Greenmount College of Agriculture and Horticulture 368 360 1348
Loughrey College—The Food Centre 184 161 1204
Total 732 677 1707
1 Enrolments to mid-October—further enrolments on part-time course still expected

Many college courses are of 2, 3 and 4 years duration and the overall student enrolment would be much greater than that indicated above.

In addition to the full-time and part-time courses, the DANI Colleges provide a wide range of short courses of between half a day and 10 days duration for people working in the agri-food industry. The overall enrolment on these courses across the three Colleges for the last three academic years was:

Enrolments on Short Courses at DANI Colleges

  • 1997–98: 7,805
  • 1998–99: 13,031
  • 1999–2000: 10,559.