Education in Canada comprises 10 provincional and 2 territorial systems, including public schools, "separate" schools, and private schools.
Public education in Canada is co-educational and free up to and including secondary school. The school attendance is compulsory for children from the age of 6 or 7 until they are 15 or 16 years old. In Quebec, free education is extended and includes the general and vocational colleges (CEGEPs) which charge only a minimum registration fee. The student pays tuition for most other post-secondary education.
Canada spends 8 per cent of its gross domestic product on education, which is among the highest of the industrialized countries.
The provincial departments of education - headed by an elected minister - set standards, draw up curriculums and give grants to educational institutions. Responsibility for the administration of elementary and secondary (or high) schools is delegated to local elected school boards or commissions. The boards set local budget, hire and negotiate with teachers, and shape school curriculums within provincial guidelines.
In some provinces children can enter kindergarten at the age of four before starting the elementary grades at six. In some provinces enriched or accelerated programmes are available for gifted children while slow learners and disable students can be placed in special programmes.
In general, high school programmes consists of two streams. The first prepares students for university, the second for post-secondary education at a community college or institute of technology, or for the workplace.
For parents seeking alternatives to the public system, there are separate as well as private schools. Separate schools are mostly established by religious groups. Private or independent schools offer a great variety of curriculum options based on religion, language, or social academic status.
In most provinces, individual schools now set, conduct and mark their own examinations. In some provinces, however, students need to pass a graduation examination in certain key subjects in order to gain access to the post-secondary level. University entrance thus depends on course selection and marks on high school. Requirements vary from province to province.
University and other post-secondary education is subsidized by the provincial and federal governments, so that university student fees only account for an average 17.8 per cent of operating revenues. All these institutions offer both full and part-time adult education. In 1992-93 academic year, an estimated 551,300 students in Canada were studying at the college level and 867,300 were at the university level, with just 60 percent in each enrolled in full-time studies. The emphasis is put on lifelong learning. Currently, more than 55% of all university students are women.
