Education and Employment Minister Baroness Blackstone welcomed new figures published today showing a 50,000 increase in the numbers of people enrolling for adult education courses.
In November 1998 1.1 million adults were taking part in day, evening or distance learning classes, according to a snapshot survey.
Baroness Blackstone said:
" This rise in the number of people enrolled for adult education classes is particularly welcome and evidence of the growing interest in lifelong learning. The 53,000 (5 per cent) increase across England compared to the previous November also demonstrates the value which individual learners place on education.
"Local authority-run courses can provide golden opportunities for adults to take their first step back to learning, become more effective at work, make good use of leisure time and enrich their personal lives. For many this can mean painting, languages or writing workshops as well as more vocational subjects.
" Top performing Slough, Rutland, Rochdale and Hammersmith and Fulham, for example, succeed in attracting over 6 per cent of adults. There are others who could attract more. We are determined that people all over the country should have access to a proper range of local learning opportunities.
"This is an encouraging start but we still want to encourage even greater participation. The Government is supporting adult education with £20m from the Adult and Community Learning Fund."

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