The British Columbia government announced Monday that no new post-secondary institutions will be allowed to enroll international students for two years as the province seeks to eliminate cases of “exploitation.”
The Minister of Post-Secondary Education, Selina Robinson, also announced that her government was setting minimum language requirements in private educational institutions, so that foreigners are “better prepared” before coming to study in this province.
The minister says in a statement that many foreign students are being exploited and that post-secondary institutions will be inspected more frequently to ensure that teaching standards are met.
The federal government announced last week that it will cap the number of student visas approved over the next two years, in an effort to slow the growth of the international student program. Federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller said the limit would reduce the number of new student visas by 35% this year.
The federal study visa program has grown considerably in recent years. In 2022, the program saw a 31% increase from the previous year, reaching more than 800,000 international students. This increase puts additional pressure on the Canadian real estate market.
Minister Robinson indicated on Monday that the pause on new establishments would last until February 2026.
The new standards would also include “higher evaluation criteria for degree quality, demonstrated labor market need for graduates and appropriate resources, as well as student support,” the statement said.
Establishments would also be required to display their tuition fees for the entire duration of studies, so that “incoming students know the full costs of their studies before starting their program,” indicates the minister.
According to the press release, British Columbia has more than 175,000 international post-secondary students from more than 150 countries, out of a total in this province of 545,000 post-secondary students in public and private institutions. About 54% of international students attend private post-secondary institutions, according to the release.