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, except in Quebec, which is dominated by French speaking population and hence the medium of instruction is French.

The following charts show the structure of the school system in each province and Comparative education structures of India and Canada.

Comparative Educational Systems

Students can seek entry into university courses on successfully completion of 12 years of school in all provinces except In Quebec where the grade system is slightly different.

Schooling ends at grade 11. Students then go to a 2-year preparatory college. These are called 'college d'enseinment general et professional' which translates to 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 introduced in 1986. In this system, grade 9 onwards was part of the Ontario secondary school diploma (OSSD). By grade 12, students were expected to accumulate 30 credits towards the OSSD which made them eligible to colleges of applied art and t4chnology. University prescribes 6 Ontario Academic Courses (OAC) i.e. Those who plan to go to university must take these new prescriptive, provincially designed university entrance courses, which have replaced the former grade 13 programmes in schools. Students tend to complete the secondary programme including OACs in 4 to 5 years.

Cost, Financial Assistance and Visa Procedures

Cost of Study

Each University varies in terms of Tuition fees, accommodation, living, etc. However, to make a rough estimate, the average cost of studying in Canada may range from 15,000 to 20,000 Canadian Dollars. This would include tuition fees, room and board, travel within Canada, health and accident insurance. Medical insurance covers expenses for the use of hospital and medical services. After arrival in Canada, students are expected to join a medical insurance plan as son as possible. Such plans can be bought through government or private agencies.

Financial Aid

Some Canadian universities offer bursary/scholarships to international students. Information on financial assistance can requested from Student aid Division located in different provinces or from
Canadian Education Center, D-1/56,
Vasant Vihar, New Delhi-110057.
Besides these, there is an International Scholarship Research Service (ISRS) which is an international research company that maintains a Computerised data bank on over 200,000 private sector financial aid programmes (scholarships, fellowships, grants, loan) this is available to undergraduate and graduate students on request and payment of approximately $70(US).

Visa Application

Upon receipt of the letter of acceptance students can apply for a student visa from the Canadian Immigration Attaché in Delhi. The visa application along with the letter of acceptance, financial documents, etc have to be submitted. The applicant may then be called for an interview. A medical examination report is also required. The commission then informs the applicant to get the student authorization upon arrival at a Canada port of entry. The visa application is a time consuming process and hence the application must be made as early as possible.
Students' authorization to enter the country is issued only when a student is unconditionally accepted by an institution in Canada. Those who have been offered an assistantship or fellowship are exempted from giving evidence of financial resources.

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