Higher Education: Part-Time Students

Baroness Sharp of Guildford Excerpts

Wednesday 11th November 2015 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Baroness Sharp of Guildford]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government why the Green Paper on higher education published on 5 November made no mention of part-time students.

[Baroness Evans of Bowes Park (Con)]

My Lords, the Government’s Green Paper on higher education will ensure that all students, including those studying part-time, benefit from high-quality teaching and the prospect of a good graduate job. The decline in part-time and mature study is concerning, which is why in the last Parliament we took a number of steps to address it. We remain committed to supporting part-time study in this Parliament.

[Baroness Sharp of Guildford (LD)]

I thank the Minister for that reply but I point out to her, as I am sure she knows, that in 2010 there were 267,000 part-time students. Today, there are only 116,000—a drop of 140,000 people in part-time education. Many of them come from the more disadvantaged groups of society and many are mature students who are making good the failings of their earlier education. Given that we have this desperate skill shortage and that we desperately need to get these older people taking the chance to upgrade their skills and improve their education, can the Minister explain why this Government have been so blind to these opportunities? I take on board what she says about the quality of teaching, but the Government have been consulting for six months on what to do about part-time education and there is nothing in this Green Paper about the crisis that has arisen.

[Baroness Evans of Bowes Park]

My Lords, we have taken measures to continue to encourage part-time students. We have introduced loans for tuition fees and, compared with the year before, double the number of part-time undergraduates now have a student loan. We have enabled second-degree student funding support for specific subjects, and of course we have higher and degree apprenticeships, which are the fastest-growing part of the apprenticeship programme. We take these concerns seriously and are taking action.