Ontario's new law for study permit applications

Ontario’s new law for study permit applications

Canada’s Ontario capping plan allocates almost all study permit applications to public colleges and universities, which is significant.

The province of Ontario, which hosted half of Canada’s international students last year, has announced a new cap for international study permits, accounting for more than 235,000 study permit applications for 2024.

The article finds that 96% of these applications go to Ontario’s public colleges and universities, while only 4% go to language schools and private universities. It is the responsibility of the provincial government to allocate resources to these educational institutions with the aim of contributing to the growth and development of the educational and economic system.

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The Ontario government has announced an additional $1.3 billion CDN in funding for public colleges and universities. This additional money is intended to help solve the financial problems of the education system and reduce domestic tuition rates.

However, the article states that these additional fees may not be sufficient to moderate the financial effects of the cap on study permit applications. The cap is expected to significantly reduce revenue for Ontario colleges in future fiscal years, budget documents show.

By releasing information on how the cap will be implemented for 2024 and 2025, the Ontario government has joined other Canadian provinces in revealing a bleak fiscal outlook for the future.

The article points to various features of this approach, including allocating 96 percent of the quota to public colleges and universities, and the importance of prioritizing training programs in areas such as skilled trades and STEM.

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Finally, stakeholder feedback is provided, indicating that the position taken by the Ontario government is supported and that this direction is in line with supporting the region’s economic and educational goals.

“Our goal is to attract the best and brightest international students to Ontario to study in economically vital regions, while maintaining the integrity of the province’s higher education system,” said Jill Dunlop, Ontario’s Minister of Colleges and Universities. He stated that it is very important to cooperate with post-secondary education institutions to provide educational programs suitable for the labor market.

Ontario’s approach is completely different from other provinces that host international students in Canada, especially British Columbia; Because British Columbia tends to split study permits proportionally between public and private institutions.

The initial response was also raised by the stakeholders; “Ontario’s universities support the provincial government’s decision to retain international undergraduate applications,” said Steve Orsini, president and CEO of the Council of Ontario Universities. He acknowledged that universities are trying to meet the needs of the regional labor market through graduate programs.

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Ontario Colleges President Marketa Evans also added, “We are pleased with the provincial government’s decision to allocate 80 per cent of international study permit applications to public colleges.” He stated that expertise and talent in key economic areas are provided by these colleges.

However, Evans also stated that “unfortunately, in this sudden change, more has not been done to help the public college sector.” He pointed to the federal government’s cuts in funding for study permit applications without counseling or an adjustment period, which he said could lead to the collapse of part of the state education system.

Gonzalo Peralta, the executive director of Languages Canada, also expressed concern about the federal and provincial governments’ decisions, stating that allocating 2 percent of study permit applications to language teaching is unreasonable.

In the end, Peralta’s comments showed that members of this part of the educational ecosystem are disappointed with the new government decisions and are looking for adjustments that will allow them to provide quality programs that are needed by the labor market and exercise their rights to work.

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