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Higher Education in Canada
Higher Education in Canada
Higher Education in Canada
Responsibility for education in Canada rests with the ten provinces and three
territories. This means that each province and territory regulates the standards of education
and any issues which arise as well, and these are strict to ensure quality. Every province has a
Ministry or a Department of education which is responsible for educational policy, funding
and quality assurance. Moreover, Canada does not have a national curriculum. The provincial
governments are responsible for establishing the curriculum for their schools, and each
province has its own ministry-established common curriculum.
Colleges and institutes are divided into community colleges, colleges of applied arts
or applied technology, institutes of technology or science, colleges d’enseignement général et
professionnel, which are only in Quebec, and career colleges. Career colleges are privately
owned educational institutions which provide students with practical skills molded for the job
market. Study periods are usually relatively short, and the courses emphasize practical skills.
Canadian career colleges specialize in areas such as business, IT and secretarial skills.
Altogether, colleges and institutes offer one to three year programs and they issue diplomas
and certificates that qualify graduates to work in specific jobs within many fields, such as:
business, computer and mechanical technologies, health, social service, agricultures, trades
etc. There are some differences between how things are structured in Quebec compared to
the rest of Canada. In Quebec, college refers to either a 2-year pre-university program or a 3-
year professional program, after which a student can pursue undergraduate study at university
which is usually 3 years long and leads to a bachelor’s degree. Elsewhere in Canada, college
refers to community college or a technical school where students can earn a certificate,
diploma or associate’s degree. Some colleges, in collaboration with business, have developed
custom training services and specialized programs in leading-edge or high-tech areas. The
main difference between college education and university education is that if the first one
prepares a student for an applied career, the second one prepares the student for an academic
career. On the other hand, universities focus more on independent learning and critical
thinking, whereas colleges are more practical.
Moreover, Canada is considered one of the most educated countries in the world.
According to BBC NEWS 1 , at university level, Canada has the highest proportion of
working-age adults who have been throught higher education, 55% compared with an
1
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-40708421
average in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries of 35%. But
there are also flaws in the Canadian Education System. According to News Activist2 there are
three major flaws that have been increasing noticed among the federal government: the
accessibility, the quality of education, and financing education in general.
All in all, Canadian system of Higher Education is arguably considered one of the best
in the world, and a University diploma, both Bachelor’s degree and Master’s degree obtained
in any university of Canada is recognized in almost all countries.
Sources:
file:///C:/Users/Alex/Downloads/PSE2008_English%20(1).pdf
https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/81-582-g/2010001/app-ann/app-ann1-
eng.htm
https://www.educations.com/study-guides/north-america/study-in-
canada/colleges-6173
https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-
rankings/2018/world-
ranking#!/page/0/length/25/sort_by/rank/sort_order/asc/cols/stats
http://newsactivist.com/en/news-summary/flacks-newsactivist-winter-2015-
complementary-course/flaws-canadian-education
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-40708421
2
http://newsactivist.com/en/news-summary/flacks-newsactivist-winter-2015-complementary-course/flaws-
canadian-education