§ Miss McIntoshTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many students dropped out of university courses in(a) 1997, (b) 1993, (c) 1999, (d) 2000 and (e) 2001. [25]
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§ Margaret HodgeThe latest "Performance Indicators in Higher Education" published by the Higher Education Funding Council for England give an overall non-completion rate for students starting full-time first degree courses in the UK in 1997–98 of 17 per cent., a figure which has stayed roughly constant since 1991–92. Figures for students starting courses in 1998–99 will be published by HEFCE in September.
In 2000, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) published a table comparing estimates of drop-out rates in member countries. They showed an average of around a third of university students dropping out of their courses in OECD countries. The UK had the second lowest drop-out rate among the 30 OECD countries.