Andy Love MP welcomes increase in higher education take-up in Edmonton

Edmonton MP Andy Love welcomed recent figures showing a considerable increase in the take-up of higher education amongst Edmonton residents. In the academic year 2008/09, there were 3,520 postgraduate and undergraduate enrolments of all ages to full-time and part-time courses from Edmonton. This figure compares to just 2,170 equivalent enrolments from Edmonton in the 1997/98 academic year.

Despite having to enforce savings of £315 million in the Higher Education Funding Council’s grant for 2010/11 in line with the wider budgeting due to the difficult economic times, the Government is still investing £23 billion in higher education in a drive to encourage more and more individuals to go to university. Overall, the Government’s funding of higher education has risen in real terms by 25 percent between 1997 and 2009/10.

Commenting on the recent figures, Andy said…

“I am proud of every single individual in Edmonton who has gone to university, and I welcome the huge increase in the numbers of people attending higher education from my constituency.

“Ten years ago, many people in this area wouldn’t have thought that going to university was an option for them. But thanks to Government investment, more and more local people are getting valuable qualifications and I hope that this will continue.”