Centennial College to scrap men-only training program in Saudi Arabia

Campuses run by Ontario schools that ban women are unacceptable, Wynne says

Centennial College announced Friday it will not be renewing a Saudi Arabia apprenticeship training contract when it lapses April13 following criticism of men-only programs run by Ontario colleges.

Premier Kathleen Wynne said earlier it is unacceptable that local colleges are operating campuses in Sau- di Arabia that don’t admit female students.

Niagara College and Ottawa-based Algonquin College have been operating men-only campuses for a couple of years in two cities in Saudi Arabia, where sharia law forbids educating women and men in the same classes.

Centennial said it “did not — and would never” bar women from entering the program, but eligibility was determined by employers in the region.

Spokesman Mark Toljagic cited “security concerns” as an additional reason why the apprenticeship would not be renewed.

“That part of the world has become a little bit unstable,” he said.

A statement from the college compared circumstances in Saudi Arabia to Canada “decades ago.” “It is unlikely that there are any women in the automotive field in Saudi Arabia — ironically, the same situation the industry faced in Canada decades ago,” the written statement read.

“Even now, the percentage of women in the automotive trades in Canada remains stubbornly low. Centen- nial is proud to serve a diverse student group that reflects its communities, and the college will continue to encourage, recruit and support women in the skilled trades.”

Colleges and Universities Minister Reza Moridi, who had earlier said it was up to colleges to determine the student makeup on their campuses, said Thursday he was concerned that women were excluded from the Ontario-run campuses.

Wynne said she told Moridi to meet with Niagara College and Algonquin College as soon as she found out about the practice, which, she says, has “got to change.”

Progressive Conservative critic John Yakabuski called it a “stretch” for Wynne not to have known Ontario colleges were excluding women from their Saudi campuses, and said Wynne was expressing concern because the media picked up the story.

Ontario provides $1.44 billion in funding to its 24 community colleges. Algonquin is getting $103 million for the fiscal year and Niagara College $45 million.