Updating British Columbia's education policy
The province has made changes to its regulations for international students.
The B.C. government has followed Ottawa's call and released its updated international student policy.
The province's Minister of Post-Secondary Education, Selina Robinson, said international students come for a quality education and the province must provide them with a safe and supportive educational environment. Key to the new policy is the introduction of more stringent regulatory requirements for educational institutions to protect students and improve their educational trajectory.
The action plan includes the following measures:
- A moratorium on new educational institutions available to international students for two years until February 2026;
- Enhanced monitoring of compliance with the requirements for private educational institutions through frequent inspections;
- Setting higher standards for private educational programs (including the need to meet labor market demands and provide adequate student support);
- Introducing minimum language requirements for private institutions to better prepare foreign students;
- Requiring public institutions to publish complete information on all tuition costs to avoid unanticipated costs to students.
Work to address exploitative practices began in the spring of 2023. The province is actively setting up systems to comply with new federal requirements, including procedures for issuing letters of certification to international students.
"Today’s announcement is an important first step and an acknowledgment by the minister that international education in British Columbia needs more oversight," said Melissa Chirino, chairperson, British Columbia Federation of Students.
There are currently about 545,000 post-secondary students in British Columbia, including domestic and international students from the public and private sectors. Of these, more than 175,000 are international post-secondary students from more than 150 countries.
About 82,000 international students in British Columbia are enrolled in public post-secondary institutions, and about 94,000 international students are enrolled in private post-secondary institutions.
Next year, provincial officials promise additional reforms to better integrate educational programs with labor market needs and strengthen student protections against unfair practices.
Earlier, the Ontario government had already reported on its updated provincial policy.
