To ask the Minister for the Economy (i) how many undergraduate and post-graduate teaching degrees her Department will be making available in Northern Ireland for students to enter in 2021/22; (ii) for a breakdown of how her Department has come to decide on that number; and (iii) for a breakdown of where those degrees will be delivered.

While the Department for the Economy has responsibility for the administration and funding of Initial Teacher Education (ITE) in Northern Ireland, it is the Department of Education that has responsibility for the determination of student intake allocations to the Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) each year.

My Department is not yet in a position to provide details for the 2021/22 academic year. Work is ongoing to gather the necessary information needed to make a decision on next year’s intake numbers and consideration will be given to this in due course, with a view to notifying the HEIs of the outcome in early 2021. The decision making process will be based on a number of relevant factors, including the predicted future need for teachers across the NI education system.

Once the final figures have been decided and the HEIs informed, the details will be published on the Department’s website here.