Canada, in many ways, has built the most egalitarian PUBLIC post-secondary education system in the world. While students in other countries agonize over getting into the “right” university or college, students in Canada usually go to the closest public college or university, safe in the knowledge that it will be an excellent education with global recognition,
This is a remarkable feat and one of Canada’s greatest strengths; its downside is the trepidation, mistrust or outright antagonism that private education is met with in Canada. A misconception in the national mindset is that private education is inferior at best and unscrupulous at worst. I am deeply aware of this bias as I, too, once suffered from this myopic thinking and allowed a few bad actors to prejudice me against an entire and highly diverse industry that never being a beneficiary of the government bailout.
This is a shame because private education in Canada has transformed the lives of its citizens and its future citizens. It has contributed enormously to the Canadian economy and the betterment of Canadian society. It has been an innovator and a pioneer in pedagogy, curriculum development and delivery.
The series of these posts will take a deeper look at the owners, business management experiences, applied and research programs, employment, salary costs, taxes, and sustainability in both private and public post-secondary education sectors. The series’ last post intends to demonstrate private schools in Canada and the indispensable part it plays in Canada’s educational structure and the Canadian economy.