British Columbia imposed 2-year ban on international students

The post-secondary education in Canada’s province, British Columbia, has imposed a 2-year ban on international students enrolling in new colleges. The post-secondary education minister has announced that international students have to meet minimum language standards for educational institutions.

The goal of this move is to help international students get ready for their enrollment in the colleges of British Columbia. British Columbia has imposed a 2-year ban on new post-secondary colleges from accepting international students for two years. This pause would last until February 2026.

B.C.’s post-secondary education minister, Selina Robinson, said the pause on new institutions would last until February 2026 #cdnpoli https://t.co/gAddqSzl2q
— iPolitics (@iPoliticsCA) January 29, 2024

The decision is part of the province’s plan to fix problems in the international education sector which Post-Secondary education minister Selina Robinson says has not been working as well as it should.

Minister Selina said that British Columbia began looking into the international education system in March of the previous year. The investigation found cases regarding “poor quality education, a lack of instructors.” Moreover, they have found tricks that some private institutes use to keep students from making official complaints.

During a press conference, the Minister described a specific incident in which an Indian student was misled. Her family had saved money for her education in British Columbia in-class teaching, and the student was placed in online classes upon arriving.

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In this regard, Minister Selina highlighted the importance of preventing such fraudulent techniques by “bad actors” within the system. British Columbia has implemented minimal language requirements for private colleges to improve education quality for overseas students.

Minister Selina mentioned that the government is implementing new laws to prepare international students before they arrive in British Columbia. Moreover, she said they will release the specific information on the language requirements in March 2024.

Furthermore, she stated that the government is still working to specify the details. Around 54 percent of British Columbia’s 175,000 international post-secondary students come from more than 150 countries.