§ Mr. ÖpikTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when the Charter for Higher Education for Northern Ireland will be published; and if he will make a statement. [114666]
§ Mr. IngramThe Department of Higher and Further Education, Training and Employment has no plans to publish a Higher Education Charter for Northern Ireland.
§ Mr. ÖpikTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans the Department of Education for Northern Ireland has to promote sporting provision and facilities in the further education sector; and if he will make a statement. [114653]
§ Mr. IngramThe Department of Higher and Further Education, Training and Employment has worked with the Further Education Sector to develop guidelines for colleges on a number of health related issues, including physical activities. Further, it has undertaken a mapping exercise on the provision and use of physical education and sports facilities, as part of the Northern Ireland Physical Activity Strategy Action Plan 1999–2002, and as a result has written to the colleges encouraging them to make increased use of such facilities.
The Department has also recently nominated a representative to the Northern Ireland Physical Activity Implementation Group (NIPAIG) which will oversee the implementation of the NI Physical Activity Strategy. One of the key activities of the groups is to consider ways in which Further Education and Higher Education students' participation in fitness and sporting activities can be enhanced and how the time allocated to higher education based teacher training in Physical Education might be increased.
§ Mr. ÖpikTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many applications have been made by students from Northern Ireland during the current year to UCAS and CAO/CAS; and if he will make a statement. [114659]
§ Mr. IngramFor entry in 2000, there were 13,539 NI applicants to Higher Education courses through the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) and 1,242 through the Central Applications Office at their respective closing dates for applications. The closing date for applications to UCAS was 15 December 1999 and 1 February 2000 for applications to CAO. Both UCAS and CAO expect further applications after the closing date.
§ Mr. ÖpikTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the breakdown is by(a) gender, (b) age and (c) religious background of student enrolments in each 92W further and higher education institution in Northern Ireland for each of the past five years; and if he will make a statement. [114676]
§ Mr. IngramThe information requested has been placed in the Library.
§ Mr. ÖpikTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many applications were made by students from Northern Ireland during each of the last three years to UCAS and CAO/CAS; and if he will make a statement. [114660]
§ Mr. IngramNI applicants to Higher Education courses through the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) and the Central Applicants Office (CAO) are as follows:
UCAS applicants CAO applicants 1998 15,515 1,348 1999 15,067 1,437 2000 13,539 1,242 Note:
Figures for 2000 are at the respective closing dates for applications (15 December for UCAS and 1 February for CAO) and do not include late applications.
§ Mr. ÖpikTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the student dropout rates were for each further and higher education college in Northern Ireland in each of the past three years; and if he will make a statement. [114678]
§ Mr. IngramThis Department does not calculate drop out rates for Higher Education institutions. The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) has calculated projected non-completion rates for full-time students starting first degree courses in Higher Education institutions in the UK. Currently, values are available for 1996–97 only. The values for the Queen's University of Belfast are 10 per cent., and for the University of Ulster are 17 per cent. It should be noted that differences between institutions, such as subject mix or the qualifications on entry of their students make comparisons between institutions unreliable. For this reason HEFCE has produced benchmarks against which an institution's value can be compared. The benchmarks for the Queen's University of Belfast and the University of Ulster are 12 per cent, and 18 per cent, respectively. The methodology used to calculate values and benchmarks is contained in the HEFCE publication "Performance indicators in higher education 1996–97, 1997–98".
Student dropout rates for each further Education College are not available.
§ Mr. ÖpikTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what research his Department has commissioned or evaluated on gender differences in the participation of Protestants from a manual work background in post-school education in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement. [114658]
§ Mr. IngramThis Department has not commissioned or evaluated any research which has looked specifically at gender differences in the participation of Protestants from a manual work background in post-school education in Northern Ireland.
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§ Mr. ÖpikTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the Government's current policy on promoting community relations programmes in post-school education in Northern Ireland. [114655]
Mr. IngrainThe Department fully recognises the importance of promoting community relations programmes in post-school education.
The Department is setting up a working group together with representatives from the further education sector and the National Union of Students/Unions of Students in Ireland (NUS/USI), to consider how cultural diversity can best be recognised and promoted.
The Northern Ireland Universities have affirmed their commitment to promoting a pluralist environment which celebrates diversity across their campuses. They are working closely with the Student Unions in support of their programme for promoting community relations among students.
§ Mr. ÖpikTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the PAFT analysis carried out by the Department of Education for Northern Ireland regarding recent changes to student financial support arrangements. [114664]
§ Mr. IngramThe PAFT analysis of the student support arrangements introduced from the 1998–99 academic year recognised that the changes would have beneficial effects for some groups of students, but might also have the potential to act as a disincentive for others entering higher education. It concluded that, in general terms, the policy of maintaining parity in student support matters with England and Wales has been, over the long term, to the advantage of Northern Ireland students and that, in value for money terms, it represented an effective use of resources.
§ Mr. ÖpikTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the expenditure was on promoting community relations work in each further and higher education college in Northern Ireland in each of the past three years; and if he will make a statement. [114677]
§ Mr. IngramThe Department does not hold these details.
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£ Academic year 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 Allocation Expenditure Allocation Expenditure Allocation Expenditure Armagh 7,618 7,720 16,033 15,931 14,046 1— BIFHE 94,612 94,503 180,076 104,220 302,739 1— Castlereagh 7.612 7,612 14,779 14,779 28,047 1— Causeway 10,927 10,927 33,913 19,040 42,923 1— East Antrim 19,763 21,097 38,048 28,500 54,998 1— East Down 14,188 14,196 28,945 26,196 42,735 1— East Tyrone 17,830 18,370 30,704 26,071 36,986 1— Fermanagh 12,990 12,920 38,410 34,927 51,878 1— Limavady 3,236 3,236 32,293 32,293 37,541 1— Lisburn 8,958 8,958 14,231 14,230 30,371 1—
§ Mr. ÖpikTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what were the(a) number of and (b) expenditure on postgraduate awards in Northern Ireland in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement, [114652]
§ Mr. IngramThe number of, and expenditure on, postgraduate awards in each of the last three years are as follows:
Financial year Number of awards Expenditure (£000) 1997–98 575 4,565 1998–99 536 4,253 1999–2000 434 3,903 These figures exclude a small number of postgraduate awards made by the Education and Library Boards under the Department of Higher and Further Education Discretionary Awards arrangements. The collation of such information would involve disproportionate costs.
§ Mr. ÖpikTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans the Government have to make UCAS collect data relating to the religious background of applicants from Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement. [114654]
§ Mr. IngramMy Department has written to the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) asking it to include a question about community background on UCAS application forms completed by Northern Ireland-domiciled students. The request is under consideration and a conclusion may not be reached for some months. Pending the outcome I should say there is no question of my Department forcing UCAS to include a question on community background. Such a question would in any event be subject to voluntary response by the student applicant.
§ Mr. ÖpikTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what estimate his Department has made of the cost of restoring maintenance grants for students in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement. [114662]
§ Mr. IngramIf maintenance grants for Northern Ireland-domiciled students were to be restored, the costs could be in the region of £40 million in a full year.
§ Mr. ÖpikTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the access fund allocation and take-up rate was for each institution of further and higher education in Northern Ireland in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement. [114657]
§ Mr. IngramAccess Funds allocation and take-up rates for the last three years are:
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£ Academic year 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 Allocation Expenditure Allocation Expenditure Allocation Expenditure Newry 44,212 43,480 53,168 48,444 70,229 1— NIHCC 3,265 2,771 47,071 29,381 44,815 1— North Down 33,202 33,202 68,075 60,639 89,571 1— North East 40,522 42,997 67,303 54,521 74,053 1— North West 31,142 33,235 102,440 95,961 118,265 1— Omagh 12,595 12,595 18,902 18,902 28,507 1— Upper Bann 28,264 26,066 32,920 26,015 60,296 1— Total 390,936 393,885 817,311 650,050 1,128,000 1— 1 Expenditure details not yet available Note:
Funding has been substantially increased over this period and is evidence of Government's commitment to implementing their Lifelong Learning Policy
§ Mr. ÖpikTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what estimate his Department has made of the cost of abolishing the system of student tuition fees in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement. [114661]
§ Mr. IngramIf the contribution towards the cost of tuition fees was to be abolished, the cost would be in the region of £15.5 million in a full year.
Enrolments at NI higher education institutions 1996–97 to 1998–99 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 Full-time Part-time Total Full-time Part-time Total Full-time Part-time Total The Queen's University of Belfast 11,763 6,794 18,557 13,750 6,712 20,462 13,575 7,446 21,021 University of Ulster 13,131 5,698 18,829 13,617 6,541 20,158 13,464 6,015 19,479 St. Mary's University College 601 19 620 590 22 612 609 29 638 Stranmillis University College 594 65 659 578 70 648 668 282 950 Total 25,989 12,576 38,665 28,535 13,345 41,880 28,316 13,772 42,088
Enrolments on vocational courses at NI further education colleges/institutes, by mode of attendance, 1996–97 to 1998–99 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 College/Institute Full-time Part-time Total Full-time Part-time Total Full-time Part-time Total Armagh 1,287 605 1,892 1,374 591 1,965 1,295 613 1,908 BIFHE 4,680 17,462 22,142 4,407 17,456 21,863 4,030 18,336 22,366 Castlereagh 777 2,552 3,329 851 2,463 3,314 767 2,487 3,254 Causeway 1,211 2,143 3,354 1,065 1,958 3,023 1,070 1,834 2,904 East Antrim 1,127 3,763 4,890 1,152 3,923 5,075 1,069 3,769 4,838 East Down 1,227 2,879 4,106 1,227 2,523 3,750 1,154 2,722 3,876 East Tyrone 863 1,817 2,680 868 1,978 2,849 828 1,879 2,707 Fermanagh 1,076 1,790 2,866 1,060 2,060 3,120 948 2,318 3,266 Limavady 839 1,046 1,885 821 1,116 1,937 934 1,374 2,308 Lisburn 1,103 2,562 3,665 1,108 2,333 3,441 1,097 2,417 3,514 North Down and Ards 1,878 4,183 6,061 1,973 4,409 6,382 2,049 4,580 6,629 North East 2,098 4,227 6,325 2,181 3,790 5,971 2,107 3,915 6,022 Newry and Kilkeel 1,858 3,241 5,099 1,820 3,682 5,502 1,774 3,831 5,605 NIHCC 378 162 540 422 226 648 395 158 553 North West 2,496 5,442 7,938 2,474 6,247 8,721 2,358 6,212 8,570 Omagh 918 1,822 2,740 917 1,977 2,894 778 1,715 2,493 Upper Bann 1,217 4,373 5,590 1,248 3,969 5,217 1,201 4,286 5,487 Total 25,033 60,069 85,102 24,968 60,701 85,669 23,854 62,446 86,300 Note:
Figures represent snapshots of enrolments at 1 November each academic year