| dc.description.abstract | Public expenditure on education and training in the Community of Nine amounted to 83,8 billion ECU in 1978, equivalent to 405 ECU per head of the population aged bet-ween 5 and 64 years. This covered education and training financed by central and local governments, whether carried out in public or in private institutions. It represented 5,4% of the gross domestic product of the Community. Teaching and administration, including capital expenditure on the provision of buildings and equipment, absorbed 90% of the public expenditure. Another 5% took the form of transfers to households by way of scholarships, loans and other forms of direct assistance, whilst the remaining 5% was spent on complementary social services, such as school transport, medical services, meals and accomodation. Substantially full-time education, often beginning before the compulsory age and continuing to an age varying, according to country and the individual students, bet-ween 14 and 25 years or more, is referred to as the ordinary School and University System. (It includes higher level institutions that are not universities). Pupils and students within this system accounted for 94% of the expenditure; the remaining 6% go-ing on persons who had left the system and were following part-time or generally short-duration courses, in many cases being in employment at the same time. |
