Canadian province imposes 2-year ban on new colleges accepting int’l students

British Columbia, a Canadian province, has imposed a two-year ban on new colleges accepting international students, including those from Nigeria. The decision stems from the province’s commitment to addressing exploitative practices within the education system.

Situated in the western part of Canada and bordering the Pacific Ocean, British Columbia made this move to rectify deficiencies in an international education system that Minister of Post-Secondary Education, Selina Robinson, deemed as not functioning optimally.

During the announcement on Tuesday, Minister Robinson highlighted a case involving a student from India who expected in-class instruction but found out on the first day that the entire course would be taught online. This incident led to dissatisfaction, raising questions about the value of the investment.

Robinson emphasized the need to curb misleading practices by some institutions, stating, “We do need to stop the bad actors from misleading these students, and that’s what we’re here to fix.”

Alongside the ban, Robinson revealed the implementation of minimum language requirements at private institutions to better equip international students before their arrival in British Columbia. She mentioned that more details on the language requirements would be released in March.

Out of the 175,000 international tertiary education students in British Columbia, approximately 54 percent are enrolled in private institutions. The province hosts 280 private schools, with 80 percent located in the Lower Mainland.