0
0
The Canadian government has announced its intent to implement new measures aimed at raising the quality standards in colleges. These measures are a response to allegations that Canada’s education sector has been enrolling an excessive number of foreign students in order to exert pressure on the housing market and the labor force.
As reported by Bloomberg, Canada’s Immigration Minister, Marc Miller, has unveiled a framework that will require universities and colleges to meet higher standards for services, support, and outcomes for international students. These new standards will come into effect starting in the fall semester of 2024. Institutions that meet these elevated benchmarks will receive priority in the processing of student visas, with a particular focus on ensuring adequate housing.
Additionally, institutions will be mandated to directly confirm each applicant’s acceptance letter with the Canadian government starting from December 1.
Furthermore, Miller’s department will conduct a review of the post-graduate work permit program and implement reforms to align it more closely with the labor market’s needs.
This initiative arises in response to mounting concerns that Canadian educational institutions have become overly reliant on international students as a source of funding. Foreign students are charged on average five times more than their Canadian counterparts. This has led to the proliferation of colleges catering to foreign students in locations such as strip malls and temporary buildings, notably in Brampton, Ontario, where Miller made this announcement.
In a news conference, Miller acknowledged that there has been consistent underfunding of post-secondary education, which institutions have compensated for by charging opportunistic fees to international students. This funding gap, he noted, is unnatural and should not be the case in a country like Canada.
Post-secondary institutions have increasingly turned to tuition fees as provincial funding as a share of their revenue has declined, dropping from 42% in 2001 to 35% last year. The province of Ontario, Canada’s largest, has also frozen tuition fees for Canadians over the past three years.
In 2019-2020, international students covered 37% of tuition fees at Canadian universities, while in 2021, these students contributed an estimated 68% of tuition at Ontario’s colleges.
The number of foreign students in Canada has tripled in approximately a decade, surpassing 800,000 last year. Many foreign students view admission to college as a pathway to attaining permanent residency in Canada.
Despite reports suggesting that the Canadian government might consider imposing a cap on international student visas, Minister Miller rejected the idea. He pointed out that the experiences of international students are multifaceted, making it impractical for the federal government to impose a one-size-fits-all solution. Accrediting learning institutions is primarily the responsibility of the provinces, and Miller emphasized the need for cooperation between federal and provincial governments to ensure the proper regulation of the education sector.
Bloomberg has disclosed that international education contributes over C$22 billion ($16 billion) to the Canadian economy annually, exceeding the country’s exports of auto parts, lumber, or aircraft. Furthermore, it supports over 200,000 jobs, according to Miller’s office.
