N.S. universities, colleges soon to learn how many international study permit applications they'll get

The federal government has allocated 12,900 international study permit applications to be divided among Nova Scotia's universities, community and private career colleges and language schools in the province for the coming school year.

Advanced Education Minister Brian Wong revealed the province's allocation from Ottawa during a debate on his department's budget on Monday at Province House.

"Previous to this year, schools could submit really an infinite number of applications of international students to the federal government and sometimes the success rate of those going through for some schools was on average with the rest of Canada, and sometimes they were very low," Wong said.

The federal average for successful applications is 60 per cent.

Officials in Wong's department are working on a distribution model that "makes it fair and makes it just," he said.

"We want to make sure that all schools, all designated learning institutions have a good opportunity to be successful," he said.

19,000 applications for current academic year

The province submitted 19,000 applications for the academic year that started this past September. The number of applications does not directly translate to the number of students that attend schools in the province.

In January, the federal government announced it would cap the number of international study permit applications, along with other changes. The move is an attempt to address concerns about whether students can find adequate places to live amid a national housing crisis, and instances in which international students were being taken advantage of by recruitment agencies.

Wong's department is also targeting housing concerns for students as part of new bilateral funding arrangements it is negotiating with each of Nova Scotia's universities.

As part of the deals, universities must have on-campus housing for at least 15 per cent of full-time students. NSCAD, Cape Breton University and Dalhousie University all fall short of that mark. The schools must provide plans for how they will increase housing or risk penalties.

Wong said CBU, in particular, has faced rapid population growth that's raised concerns about how international students are being recruited and where they're expected to live when they arrive in the community.

CBU to reduce enrolment 

Officials at the university "have identified that they have a problem" and so has the federal government, said Wong.

"I think we all know that that population growth is something that, on one hand, we think it's a very positive thing until it's not."

CBU is working on a two-year plan that would see its student enrolment reduced from about 9,000 to 7,000, said Wong. The minister said that effort, along with plans to expand student housing, should go a long way to addressing the situation in Cape Breton.

Wong said it's important for international students to be ethically recruited and welcomed into the communities where they study. He said he's concerned that some people blame the students for the housing shortages plaguing communities.

"It has nothing to do with the international students. They came to a school to get an education. A lot of them want to become part of that community."