Higher education: problems and prospects

Higher education demands considerable expenditure. In 1976–77 the recurrent expenditure alone in Great Britain was roughly £1 336 millions, which included maintenance grants of £362 millions to students pursuing advanced courses in the institutions concerned with them. The expenditure represents about 18 per cent of all recurrent expenditure in 1976–77 by the Department of Education and Science, the Scottish Education Department and the Welsh Office. Capital expenditure on higher education in 1976–77 was around £154 millions. These large sums of expenditure are basically determined by the size of the eighteen year old age group and those in this group who qualify for higher education by acquiring the required ‘A’ levels and who wish to pursue it. The age participation rate (APR) is crucial to any analysis of future developments.