School districts resistant to international student changes, report says

School trustees, superintendents and other education officials are resistant to changes proposed by the provincial government as part of its plan to increase B. C.’ s international student population by 50 per cent in the next few years.

A Ministry of Education report released Thursday reveals that school districts are opposed to standardizing foreign student tuition fees, charging a provincial surcharge, and limiting the number of students attending any one school.

The report is based on five roundtable discussions that the government held in March and April with public school trustees, superintendents, international education managers, teachers’ union representatives and representatives from independent schools.

“Participants indicated that support for the onshore sector would be welcomed in some areas, but were concerned about the potential for unnecessary interference with highly successful programs,” the report states.

School districts would like help marketing their programs and recruiting students overseas, but there was “significant opposition” to the idea of a per- student levy to pay for the marketing, the report states.

If the levy is charged to students, they argued, B. C. programs would be at a competitive disadvantage. In addition, districts say they are already reducing expenditures to balance their budgets and can’t absorb the additional costs themselves, while the government already gets tax revenue from the spinoff spending and fees paid by international students.

About 13,000 international students attend B. C. schools each year, with 10,000 enrolled in public schools and 3,000 in private schools. Those students pay about $ 12,000 per year in tuition, adding $ 139 million to the public system and $ 29 million to independent schools, the report states.

Coquitlam and Vancouver are the top districts, with international student revenues of about $ 14 million each. Districts use these funds to support international students and supplement operating costs.