The case for Ontario students studying in Asia

Minister of Colleges and Universities Jill Dunlop has assembled a blue-ribbon panel to advise on the long-term affordability of higher education. Yes, a blue-ribbon panel sounds unaffordable, but that’s besides the point.

The point, according to Dunlop, is “laying the groundwork for the financial sustainability of the post-secondary education sector (to) protect it for current and future students.”

At present, there are several ways Ontario tries to keep higher education financially accessible. Two were presented alongside the announcement of the blue-ribbon panel: a 20232024 tuition freeze extension for Ontario students and a tuition fee increase for out-ofprovince Canadians.

Unfortunately, neither measure guarantees long-term fiscal sustainability. A tuition freeze is a temporary move that already has opponents criticizing it because it represents a $740-million revenue loss to Ontario universities. And, an increase in tuition for out-ofprovince students is too insignificant a revenue source to be a significant solution because the number of interprovincial students in Ontario is extremely low.

This brings us to the key fiscal solution that the blue-ribbon panel will likely recommend.

It’s one that is included in Canada’s 2019-2024 International Education Strategy: “Encourage Canadian students to gain new skills through study and work abroad opportunities in key global markets, especially Asia.”

Yes, living and learning abroad offers young people invaluable life experiences that build human capital. However, encouraging students to study and work abroad is also a strategic economic and political tool and this is what needs to be better understood.

It’s an economic tool because securing the financial future of Ontario’s colleges and universities requires the province to increase its export of domestic students in order to welcome more international students who, aside from their talent, represent billions of dollars in tuition fees and economic activity.

But why does Canada’s International Education Strategy encourage Canadian students to pursue post-secondary education in Asia? This is the political tool.

Currently, the vast majority of international students studying in Canada and Ontario hail from China and India, but few Canadians and Ontarians study in Asia, and this presents a real power imbalance.

Recall the 2018 diplomatic crisis that ensued after Canada called on Saudi Arabia to release female rights activists?

Saudi Arabia swiftly cancelled its generous scholarship program, ordered Saudi students studying in Canada to return home, and left Canadian colleges and universities with millions of dollars in real and potential losses.

By encouraging more Ontario students to study abroad, namely in China and India, and by simultaneously admitting fewer international students from these nations, Ontario can begin to address this power imbalance, protect its higher education sector against financial threats, and eventually render this political tool ineffective.

Let’s just hope that when Dunlop’s blue-ribbon committee release its recommendations, it will be candid about what’s in it for Ontario, what’s in it for students, and most importantly, what’s not in it for students.