Canada’s education system is an asset for the country.
Canada is a spacious country with infinite beautiful destinations, 10 provinces, and three territories. This country is home to a natural landscape, a welcoming approach, and an excellent work culture. People often wish to migrate here because of its wide variety of opportunities for career development, and well-established education system.
Canada’s education system- full of top-notch educational institutions
The education system in Canada is primarily a publicly-funded system with provincial management. However, each province will work under a different educational system due to distinct aspects. The federal government supervises the entire education system, thereby leading to enhanced education across Canada, further implying a higher standard of education.
Canada consists of a public as well as a private education system. This country even invests substantially in Canadian education from Kindergarten to Post-Secondary education. Furthermore, it invests around 6 percent of the total GDP in education. Comparatively, Canada tends to spend more on education than the other OECD countries.
Canada’s education system- its structure
Generally, the education system can be classified into four sub-categories: Pre-Elementary, Primary, Secondary, and Post-Secondary.
All kinds of schooling systems, along with private education, are open for all four levels of education in Canada.
Education in Canada becomes accessible to students once they become 5 years old. Notably, in Quebec, the schooling system often allows children who are 4 years old to begin their education. Also, Kindergarten might be an option for children depending on the province they live in.
Refer to the table below to get a gist of all the provinces with their schooling age.
| Province Names | Age for Compulsory education |
| Alberta | Six to 16 |
| British Columbia | Six to 16 |
| Manitoba | Seven to 18 |
| New Brunswick | Five to 18 |
| Newfoundland | Six to 16 |
| Northwest Territories | Five to 18 |
| Nova Scotia | Five to 16 |
| Ontario | Six to 18 |
| Prince Edward Island | Five to 16 |
| Quebec | Six to 16 |
| Saskatchewan | Seven to 16 |
| Yukon | Six to 16 |
Pre-Elementary Education
Pre-Elementary education or ‘Kindergarten’ is Canadian education’s first stage and applies to children between the age of four to five years before beginning the elementary schooling system. Provinces like New Brunswick and Nova Scotia have made it compulsory, while others have kept it optional.
Federal, private, and public schools, all provide pre-elementary education based on where the parents would like to send their children. The majority of the places provide the first year of education for free, but in other specific provinces, children might get more years for free. For instance, Quebec provides Kindergarten schooling for free to those families who function on a lower income or to disabled children.
Pre-elementary education in Canada consists of a flexible and relaxed curriculum. It primarily focuses on letting students learn alphabet basic skills, including pre-reading, music, art, counting, and playing around with other kids. This is the first step for children to acquire basic skills for Primary School.
Primary Education
Primary school is known as Elementary school in Canada. This type of education is prevalent in Canada and is considered compulsory for children aged 6 to 7 years old. This education begins from Grade 1 to Grade 6, when the children turn 11 to 12 years old. In Canada, students in this phase of education usually have only a single teacher teaching them all subjects in one classroom. Teachers imparting special education are also available, along with three to four assistant teachers. Usually, the severity of the child’s disability and other conditions determine the number of assistant teachers to stay in the classroom.
Secondary Education
Secondary Education in Canada applies to students in Grades seven and Grade eight, with age groups between 12-13, and 13-14, respectively.
Grade seven has a slightly different system than previous grades, with children switching classrooms throughout the school. Additionally, different teachers teach them different subjects.
The primary objective of this education structure is to assist students in preparing for the next phase of their education. They also get the opportunity to get accustomed to the increasing difficulty levels with each passing stage in their education.
Ontario and New Brunswick allow students to remain in school until they turn eighteen years old or until they receive a high school diploma. However, in Quebec, education tends to finish at the secondary education level in grade 11. In this province, after secondary education, students have another pre-university program of two years, also known as CEGEP.
At the high school level, a few provinces also provide special job training sessions.
Post-Secondary Education
Once students complete their education at the high school level, they can apply for education at the college or university level. In Canada, college implies community college, applied science school, and technical institution. Canadian colleges also provide certifications, associate degrees, and diplomas.
Several students attend college to get started with their university education, while some do so to acquire a qualification enabling them to join the workforce immediately after their course completion.
Canada consists of several university programs with international recognition in rural and urban areas across the nation. Moreover, Canadian education degrees stand equivalent to other universities across the world.
A year at the university comprises two semesters or terms and tends to run from September to April or May. Moreover, several post-secondary institutions offer courses in the third semester during the summer. Generally, students have the chance to begin their university study program in either September or January.
Usually, college programs are available throughout the year, providing the chance for students to begin their studies at any point during the year.
Universities in Canada indicate higher education where it is easier to obtain subjects on a wider scale. For instance, a bachelor’s degree followed by a master’s and a Ph.D.
Additionally, the provincial governments mostly fund public universities and colleges, and the rest of the amount is paid as tuition fees, research grants, or to the federal government too.
Canada’s education system- the other types of education prevalent in the country
Besides the four primary categories of education, there are other types of education prevalent in Canada. The education system comprises the following types of schools in Canada:
- Vocational Schools– Community colleges usually offer vocational training, but students also have the opportunity to acquire a trade or vocation at technical schools all over Canada. Earlier, that is a few years ago, these programs didn’t require students to access a high school diploma. However, things aren’t the same currently. Overall, vocational schools provide a chance for Canadian students to gain knowledge about a specific trade. They get to learn and acquire real experiences through the assistance of professional and qualified supervisors.
- Private schools– Canada comprises private schools as well, implying the availability of schools that don’t get support for funds from the government. Private schooling is expensive in this country, unlike public schools. Hence, it solely depends on the parents and students to determine whether this kind of investment is worth it or not. However, there are several parents who feel their child needs to learn in an environment where he will get special attention from the teachers. They believe that smaller classrooms will be worth it. Mostly, parents prefer to send their children to a specific school for their own reasons. For instance, in Quebec, those who don’t wish to study the French language often go ahead with private schooling.
- Religious Schools– Many parents don’t feel comfortable sending their children to religious schools in Canada. Hence, they often decide to send them to private schools. Moreover, these schools provide all kinds of teaching- religious as well as the regular course of study. More often, religious education is connected with the school’s specific religion.
French and English as the primary languages in Canadian education
Generally, International students have a choice to study in Canada in either of the two official Canadian languages. However, several educational institutions also impart education to their students in both French and English. But it isn’t mandatory for students to acquire fluency in both languages to study in a school or institute.
Throughout Canada, the primary language at the school’s level of education is English. Besides this, the French language is also prevalent across the country. Irrespective of the primary language of instruction, children need to learn either French or English early as their second language.
On the other hand, Quebec students must attend school with French as their primary language, until high school completion.
However, there are specific circumstances under which a child might obtain an eligibility certificate to get all instructions in the English language only. They’re as follows:
- In the case of a child’s parents having acquired elementary education in English in Canada.
- The second condition is that the child or child’s sibling has obtained education at the elementary or secondary level in English in Canada.
- In another circumstance in which a child’s mother or father completed schooling in Quebec province after August 26, 1977. Also, if the parent was eligible to obtain instructions in English at that time, implying that any one parent was a Canadian citizen.
Additionally, children with parents temporarily residing in Quebec might pursue education in school in English.
Generally, new immigrants coming to settle in Quebec have to fulfill the condition of pursuing education at Quebec’s public schools in the French language. However, they might go ahead with a private school for the English language.
Conclusion
Canada’s education system has a renowned reputation worldwide, with approximately 56 percent of individuals holding post-secondary education certificates, degrees, and diplomas. It comprises world-class and highly reputed schools, colleges, and universities.
