Education in Ontario
As with the rest of Canada, the provincial government is responsible for the education system in Ontario.
Schools in Ontario are managed by the province’s Ministry of Education, while colleges and universities are the responsibility of the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities. The regional school boards share the power with the provincial government.
Ontario has four publicly funded school systems:
- English-language public school system
- French-language public school system
- English-language separate school system
- French-language separate school system
The separate school system is Roman Catholic, while the public school system is secular and non-denominational.
Each district board in the province administers “attendance areas” for its schools and, usually, students go to the school located in the attendance area in which they live. Parents can, however, request that their children attend a school outside their attendance area.
Ontario’s education system also includes 19 public universities, including nine French language and bilingual universities, as well as a number of other institutions that can grant degrees in the province.
