EDUCATION SYSTEM
The Canadian education system encompasses publicly-funded and private schools, from kindergarten through to pre-university. Education is a provincial responsibility under the Canadian constitution, which means there are significant differences between the education systems of the different provinces. However, standards across the country are uniformly high.
In general, Canadian children attend kindergarten for one or two years at the age of four or five on a voluntary basis. All children begin Grade one at about six years of age. The school year normally runs from September through to the following June but in some instances, January intake dates are possible. Secondary schools go up to Grade 11, 12 or 13, depending on the province. From here, students may attend university, college or Cegep studies. Cegep is a French acronym for College of General and Vocational Education, and is two years of general or three years of technical education between high school and university.
THE EDUCATIONAL STRUCTURE
Canada is divided into six regions which has ten provinces and two territories. By the British North American Act of 1867 education became the responsibility of the provincial governments in Canada. Each province today has its own school system which is administered and monitored by its Ministry of Education. This ministry is headed by a Cabinet Minister. Language of instruction is English in all schools and colleges, except in Quebec, which is dominated by French speaking people and hence the medium of instruction is French.
Preschool (P) & Kindergarten (K) are not compulsory in Canada.
Grade 1 begins when children reach the age of 6 or 7 depending on the province.
A student must have completed high school before they can enter a post-secondary institution.
School education
There are both public and private schools.
Public Schools - Canadian public schools are managed at the local level by elected school boards. Almost all public schools are co-educational and offer day programs only. Many school boards offer secular or non-religious education while others have religious affiliations but this varies from province to province. Policies on accepting international students and the fees charged vary from district to district.
Private Schools - Private schools exist in every province and are registered with the Ministry of Education in their province or territory and meet the curriculum and other standards set by their respective ministries. There are boys-only, girls-only or co-educational schools full boarding programs schools and both. Private schools may adhere to a particular religious faith.
Students can seek entry into university courses on successfully completing 12 years of school in all provinces except Quebec. The grade system is slightly different in the province of Quebec. Schooling ends at grade 11. Then students go to a 2-year preparatory college. These are called `colleges d'enseignment general et professional' which implies colleges of general and professional instruction. These colleges offer 2-year college entry programs or 3 year technical and commercial courses. These are like community colleges and are briefly called CEGEP.
Ontario has a large number of institutions which follow a system which was introduced in 1986. In this system, earlier Grade 9 onwards was part of the Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD). By Grade 12 students were expected to accumulate 30 credits towards the Ontario Secondary School Diploma which made them eligible for colleges of applied arts and technology. University entry prescribes six Ontario Academic Courses (OAC's), i.e., those who plan to go to the university must take these new prescriptive, provincially designed university entrance courses which have replaced the former Grade 13 program in schools. Students tend to complete the secondary program including OAC's in 4 to 5 years.
Higher education
Canada has 73 universities and almost 180 community colleges. While universities conduct degree courses, community colleges are post-secondary institutions granting diplomas of 2 to 3 years duration. From community colleges students can transfer to universities very often with an advanced standing in the second year.
The higher education sector has a blend of academic and professional programs. Universities offer academic courses while University College, Community Colleges and Career Colleges offer professional training with varying degree of emphasis on academic work.
