Canada’s Ontario Allocates Maximum Study Permits to Public Colleges & Universities

Ontario the second largest and most -populous province of Canada, hosts over half of all international students. In a recent update, the Ontario Government has announced substantial funding of CA$ 1.3 billion for public colleges and universities which will be spent on developing a better higher education system in Ontario, Canada for international students.

Minister Jill Dunlop stressed the importance of attracting talented students to Ontario, saying “We are protecting the integrity of our province’s post-secondary education system by attracting the best and brightest international students to study in Canada’s Ontario in areas that are critical to our economy.”

For this, Canada's immigration department has allocated 235,000 study permit applications to Ontario. Among these, 96% of applications will go to public colleges and universities. While the remaining 4% will be received by private institutions. This shows Ontario's focus on strengthening its public education system.

Under this plan, 22 of Ontario's 23 universities and 11 out of 24 public colleges will keep their study permit applications at 2023 levels. This means they won't be largely affected by the cap set by IRCC earlier this year. The allocation of applications to individual institutions will be based on the following criteria,
 

• Priority will be given to high-demand STEM courses in Canada.
• International enrolments for French-language programs will also benefit through this.
• Institutions can maintain their 2023 application volumes but cannot exceed them.
   

Regarding this, Colleges Ontario President Marketa Evans said, "Ontario’s public colleges are pleased the province is allocating 80% of the international study permit applications to the public colleges. This is clear recognition that public college education is essential to ensuring the province has a workforce equipped with the talent and professional expertise to succeed in key sectors."
 

Also, for those interested in pursuing higher education in Canada or those in the student requirement industry can stay tuned with KC Overseas for more such latest updates.