Private and independent schools are a well-established part of the education landscape in British Columbia. About 65,000 students attend BC private schools. The network of private and independent schools in BC offer a wide range of choice and diversity. Jewish, Mennonite, Montessori, Waldorf, Sikh, Seventh-day Adventist, special needs, First Nations, various Christian denominations as well as secular day and boarding schools offer a spectrum of choice to parents.
Partial funding of private and independent schools by the B.C. government is recognition of the contribution these schools have made in the education of children in the province.
More than 85 per cent of private schools in B.C. are partially funded by the provincial government-receiving between 35 and 50 per cent per cent of the public school per-pupil grant, depending on the category of the school.
Private and independent schools receiving government grants must employ B.C. certified teachers and offer educational programs consistent with meeting the outcomes of the provincial mandated curriculum.
Independent schools account for about 10 per cent of B.C.'s K-12 student population. Independent and private schools receive more than $150 million in funding annually. It would cost the B.C. government an estimated $750 million to $1 billion of new capital funding to accommodate all independent and private school students in public schools.
