#Canada150: Education beyond Borders
Ranking 1st in Forbes Top 10 Most Reputable Countries in 2015, Canada has surely become one of the most sought after countries by the international community because of their warm and friendly people and its high-quality educational system.
In the 2016 edition of A World of Learning: Canada’s Performance and Potential in International Education, the country has a total of 353,570 international students in 2015 making it a major study destinations for many nations.
At this rate, the Canadian Bureau for International Education expects to have nearly half a million international students studying in the country within 10 years and more than half of its students from abroad hope to stay in the country and become Canadian citizens.
In 2014, a total of 1,833 Filipino students or 0.54% of the total number of international students in Canada came from the Philippines. From the report of British Columbia Council for International Education, the Philippines is considered as one of the international student recruitment destination and also a priority emerging market in Education under Canada’s Global Market Action Plan (GMAP). The Philippines is also an English training hub in the Asia Pacific region where the medium of instruction is English.
Mr. Ben Ryan Ybañez, President and CEO of Wise Immigration said in his statement that Canada has in store a variety of options for Filipinos in terms of education and their possible migration. He emphasized that being able to study in Canada will open a lot of opportunities for them especially in their careers in the future.
In a survey done by the 2016 ICEF i-graduate Agent Barometer, it was revealed that Canada’s attractiveness as a study destination has strengthened over the past years. An article from EduCanada cited some reasons why Canada has been the choice for some international students. Here’s why:
• High-quality education and high academic standards that will widen your career opportunities
• Canada’s effort to improve diversity among its universities and embracing multiculturalism
• Canada has been a consistent country to place in the United Nations’ healthiest and safest countries in the world list
• Canada is a bilingual country having English and French as an integral part of Canadian education
• Canada is a world leader in post-secondary research, outpacing other G-7 countries in investment in higher education according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
• Canada has been the land of possibilities and opportunities. Some international students with Canadian credentials and Canadian work experience may apply for permanent residency without having to leave Canada.
At 150, Canada remains to be a country that sparks hope to many international students who aspire to reach their dreams in life and hopefully make an impact to the society.