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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Further and Higher Education (Mr. Tim Boswell) : I congratulate the hon. Member for Houghton and Washington (Mr. Boyes) on his good fortune in securing the Adjournment debate and on his extremely positive and constructive message of a success story. I am also delighted to have the opportunity to speak about the higher education sector and, in particular, about the extremely high quality of education and research at Sunderland, one of our new universities. As the hon. Gentleman said, the enterprise and initiative of the vice-chancellor, Dr. Anne Wright, and the senior management of the university are creating many exciting developments in the north-east.
As the hon. Gentleman said, Sunderland university has grown quickly from small beginnings into one of the leading higher education providers and a major employer in the area. When it began life as a polytechnic in 1969, it had just 1,000 students. The number has increased steadily, and there are now 11,000 students studying full and part time. Indeed, the figure has risen by 3,000 since 1989 alone.
The growth is remarkable, but it reflects what has been happening throughout higher education in the past decade. Encouraged by the Government's policies for growth, universities, the former polytechnics and colleges have been educating more and more people. Last year, student numbers were more than 60 per cent. higher than when the Government came to power in 1979. During that period, the proportion of young people entering full-time higher education has doubled from one in eight to well over one in four. We remain well on target to see participation reach one in three by the end of the decade.
Expansion has not merely meant more of the same. During the 1980s, the proportion of female students, to which the hon. Gentleman referred. increased from just over 40 per cent. to about one half. Mature entrant numbers rose faster than those of young entrants. I find it remarkable that by 1990 more mature students were entering higher education than young students.
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We see no reason to suppose that the recent developments are likely to discriminate against mature students. We have safeguarded the fees position of the part-timers which, as the hon. Gentleman knows, mature students will so often be. I think that his fears on that issue are not justified.The figures that I have given are statistics. As the hon. Gentleman said, what lies behind them is the reality that thousands of young people whose parents never went into higher education and many of whom never even thought about it, have benefitted from one of the best educations in the world. Perhaps even more satisfactory is the fact that thousands of older people who missed out when they were at school have returned to education and received a qualification. That is a development of enormous economic and social significance not only in Sunderland but nationally. Apart from the benefits to the people themselves, which are important, the country as a whole can only profit from an investment on that scale in its most potent and precious resource--its people and their personal skills.
Perhaps even more remarkable is the fact that the growth in student numbers has not been at the expense of quality. More has not meant worse. Despite rapidly increasing numbers, entry standards have been maintained. The proportion of first and upper second class degrees awarded by universities, former polytechnics and colleges has increased substantially.
Although those figures relate to teaching, expansion has not been confined to teaching alone. During the 1980s, universities' earnings from research grants and contracts more than trebled. Increasingly, the private sector-- industry, business and commerce--looks to our universities and colleges to provide the expertise and research facilities that it needs to compete in world markets. That includes not only British companies but those from the European Community and further afield. Indeed, the hon. Gentleman mentioned Nissan's involvement in his local university.
The hon. Gentleman asked about research. I remind him that the new universities--although they are new and have not traditionally conducted large amounts of research--have the benefit of drawing on a pool of £16 million earmarked as pump-priming finance for the former polytechnics and new universities. That was a positive and imaginative move.
It is particularly valuable that, at Sunderland university, over 40 per cent. of all students are studying the sciences, engineering and technology. This rises to over half if subjects and professions allied to medicine are included. I know that it has not been particularly easy for some universities and colleges to attract students to study science. I therefore commend the achievement of Sunderland, on which I hope that it will build.
The commitment to science goes hand in hand with the contribution Sunderland university is making to its local community, especially the business community. Perhaps this can be seen most clearly in the new industry centre that has opened recently on the campus. The centre aims to offer industry the highest possible standards in training, consultancy and manufacturing services, and may pick up some revenue for the university in the process.
Contained within the centre is a micro-technology centre, one of the north- east's leading microcomputer training and consultancy organisations ; there is also an advanced manufacturing systems centre, reputed to be the
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most up-to-date facility of its kind anywhere in the United Kingdom providing consultancy services in computer integrated manufacturing and design systems ; and a scanning electron microscopy centre offering a 24-hour turnaround service.The university's commitment to local industry and business is matched by that to local residents. That is equally important given the circumstances of the city. For too long, the world of higher education has often seemed remote, not to say elitist, for many of the people who live just a stone's throw from the walls of a university or higher education college. To combat this, Sunderland has worked closely with local further education colleges in the area to ensure that, for those who wish to enter higher education, there is close integration of course work and teaching. That makes Sunderland university a warm and welcoming place of learning. So much for the past and the present. What of the future? The Government announced their funding plans for HE in last year's autumn statement. The plans mean that a total of £3.9 billion will be available to HE institutions in 1993-94, an increase of £265 million, 7.3 per cent. in cash or 4.4 per cent. in real terms, in available public funding for HE. That builds on successive increases of 10 per cent. in each of the past three years and provides for an 8.5 per cent. growth in full-time equivalent student numbers next year and 106,000 extra places by 1995-96. That means that the current record levels of participation can be maintained over the next three years before they are projected to rise to one in three by the year 2000. There is a useful period of consolidation, a time for universities and colleges to take stock--something I know that many have been seeking.
The hon. Gentleman referred to the implications for Sunderland, and I feel that institutions that have expanded especially fast may benefit from a pause before a period of further expansion. That would not be to their disadvantage. At the same time, institutions will need continuing improvements in efficiency by making better use of their resources, and I am sure that they will make them.
I stress that, by 1992, we had already reached participation rates that we had projected in our White Paper would not be reached until 1994 or 1995. That shows that universities and colleges such as Sunderland have responded magnificently to the challenge of expanding and making productivity gains. But the rate of expansion has been so great that it now makes sense to pause and take stock, and to put some additional emphasis on further education.
Like many other universities and colleges, with Government support Sunderland university is building for the long-term future. It is developing its existing campus, and a new building for pharmaceutical sciences will soon be in operation. In co-operation with the Tyne and Wear development corporation, the university is building a new campus site on the north bank of ther River Wear estuary, covering 25 acres of former industrial operations. Appropriately for a university, the site includes the historic seventh-century church of St. Peter's, where the Venerable Bede studied.
The plans are for a four-phase development over 10 years. Eventually, the site will house the business school, computing and information systems, the school of education, the school of art and design, a conference centre, a heritage centre, and a learning resource centre.
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Also, 450 direct and indirect jobes will be created by the first phase of the development, and more than 1,000 will be created when the project is completed.But growth is not just a matter of spending money and increasing accommodation. Institutions can maximise the use of their resources through distance learning. To its great credit, Sunderland university has embarked on a major initiative, which I much support, to develop open and distance learning across the massive range of its courses, using a range of media to reach the maximum possible number of students, ever developing the community campus-based radio station, Wear FM community radio. It is pioneering and developing computer-based learning, including the use of external
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data, satellite and cable television. It is transforming its learning materials into high-quality distance learning packages, which are very valuable for part-time mature students with family and domestic responsibilities.Those are very positive developments. I take great pride as a Minister in our diverse higher education system. It is buoyant, optimistic and successful. In the university of Sunderland--a new university ; a former polytechnic--we have a prime example of much that is good in higher education today. I join the hon. Gentleman in commending its vice- chancellor, Dr. Wright, her staff and the students for their continuing achievements. I wish them every success for the future.
Question put and agreed to.
Adjourned accordingly at one minute past Twelve o'clock.
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