HC Deb 23 July 2004 vol 424 c781W
Chris Grayling

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of(a) full-time undergraduate students, (b) post-graduate students and (c) full-time students taking higher degrees through taught courses were from ethnic minority backgrounds (i) in 1997 and (ii) in the most recent period for which figures are available. [183411]

Alan Johnson

The latest available figures are shown in the table.

Proportion of HE students from ethnic minorities 1
UK HE institutions
Percentage
1996/97 2002/032
Full-time undergraduates 15 20
All postgraduates 15 22
Full-time taught postgraduates 26 34
1 Based on those students who provided details of their ethnicity.
2 A new classification of ethnicity was introduced in 2001/02. The

figures for 2002/03 include students recorded as "mixed white/

ethnic" who were not separately identified in 1996/97.