Increasing the number of university places in Northern Ireland would require introducing higher tuition fees or taking money from another Stormont department, economy minister Gordon Lyons has told a committee of MPs.
The Westminster Science and Technology Committee is visiting Northern Ireland and heard concerns about the number of students who leave the region and never return during an evidence session at Stormont. The committee is exploring how science and technology is contributing to the post-19 Covid recovery across the UK.
MPs were told that more than 17,000 students leave Northern Ireland every year and two thirds of those do not return. Conservative MP Aaron Bell said: "You are losing too many of your bright teenagers.
