The province of British Columbia is implementing a two-year ban on new post-secondary institutions applying to enroll international students to address “exploitative practices” within the system. Selina Robinson, the Post-Secondary Education Minister, emphasized the need for this freeze to rectify issues in an international education system that has been deemed ineffective.
The province investigated the system in March of the previous year, revealing “poor-quality education, a lack of instructors,” and allegations of private institutions dissuading students from filing complaints. Robinson shared a specific case where a student from India, whose family had saved money for her education in B.C., arrived expecting in-class instruction only to discover that the entire course would be taught online.
To address such concerns, Robinson announced the implementation of minimum language requirements at private institutions better to prepare international students before they arrived in B.C. Further details on these language requirements will be released in March. Currently, 54 percent of the 175,000 international post-secondary students in B.C. are enrolled in private institutions, totaling 280 schools, with 80 percent located in the Lower Mainland.
Acknowledging that students may be reluctant to complain due to fears of risking their student visas, Robinson highlighted the province’s commitment to increasing inspections of schools to ensure standards are met. She emphasized the importance of preventing “bad actors” from misleading students.
The two-year pause on new enrollments gives the province time to assess recent changes, including the federal government’s cap on study permits over the next two years. Federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller stated that this limit would result in a 35 percent reduction in new student visas this year.
Premier David Eby emphasized the crucial role of the international education sector in the province’s social and economic fabric. He expressed the need to address institutions that are not meeting expectations. He highlighted the uniform expectation of quality across all private institutions.
The B.C. Federation of Students, representing over 170,000 individuals enrolled in various post-secondary institutions, lauded the changes as a “good first step” and acknowledged issues the group raised over several years. They stressed the importance of centering students’ needs, protecting international students, and ensuring tuition fees are not used to cover institutional budget shortfalls. The federation urged a comprehensive review, considering the problem of “exploitative international recruitment” and addressing potential overreliance on tuition from foreign students by public post-secondary institutions.
