WRITTEN QUESTION E-1606/01

by Juan Naranjo Escobar (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(1 June 2001)

Subject: Student numbers in universities

In recent years, European universities have seen a gradual decrease in student numbers, to the point where some are now experiencing negative growth.

So far, this reduction has had a greater impact on degree studies, and has hit State universities hardest, but in the future it could lead to fewer jobs for teachers as a whole.

This situation reflects the falling birth rate and the increasing tendency of young people to follow studies that are vocational in nature, rather than the kind of courses offered by universities.

Can the Commission confirm the existence of such trends in undergraduate and postgraduate university education throughout the European Union? If so, does the Commission consider it necessary to give higher prominence to vocational training for those students wishing to learn a particular profession? If these trends are confirmed, how does the Commission intend to tackle the changes occurring in the university sector?

Answer given by Mrs Reding on behalf of the Commission

(3 September 2001)

The Commission bases its statistical analysis at European level on the statistics available from Eurostat. The most recent data available to Eurostat on the number of students enrolled in tertiary education relate to the academic year 1998/1999.

The Eurydice publication Key data on education in Europe 1999/2000 was published in the year 2000 based on Eurostat statistics. It covers the period from 1975 to 1997. This is the most recent Europe-wide analysis of the number of students enrolled in tertiary education. A striking finding from the Eurydice study is the fact that the number of students in tertiary education has more than doubled over the last 20 years. The increase was particularly rapid in Greece, Spain, Ireland and Portugal. Only in France and the Netherlands did the number of students in tertiary education tend to decrease slightly.

Eurostat statistics on the number of students in tertiary education for the academic year 1998/1999 confirms this trend in increases in student numbers, even for France, which previously showed a decrease.

The number of students in higher education institutions is very much dependent on the system of higher education in the various Member States. Selection procedures and limits on the numbers of places available, such as the numerus clausus system, are factors which affect the size of the student population. One of the reasons for independent selection procedures is consideration of labour market needs, but many other variables have an influence as well.

Finally, recent trends in higher education in Europe to promote a Life Long Learning perspective and more openness among higher education institutions to the needs of new groups of learners, challenge both the structures of and access to higher education institutions. One of the results of this development may be an increasing number of learners enrolled in tertiary education in Europe.

In this context, the Commission therefore cannot confirm the trends described by the Honourable Member. Nevertheless, the measures taken by the Commission to promote Life Long Learning, eLearning and the links between education and employment will all help make higher education institutions more open to society and to professional life.