Education in British Columbia comprises public and private primary and secondary schools throughout the province.
In 2020, 86% of students in British Columbia graduated from high school within six years of entering grade 8.
In 2020–2021, the Government of British Columbia spent just over $5 billion on its K-12 education system, representing 22.3% of its provincial budget.
British Columbia also has the largest private school sector in Canada, enrolling 87,225 (13.1%) of the province's students in 2019–2020.
A wide variety of independent schools exist to serve particular groups within British Columbia; schools may be religious (e.g. Christian, Jewish, or Muslim), may teach according to a particular pedagogy (e.g. Waldorf or Montessori), may focus on particular disciplines (e.g. sports or fine arts), or may focus on university preparation.
[5] British Columbia is unique in that many of the students educated at home are enrolled with or attend online schools.
Over time, a growing number of people in the colonies wanted a free, non-sectarian education system as championed by Egerton Ryerson in Ontario.
Some of the foremost advocates for this new type of school system was Amor de Cosmos and John Robson, two figures men who would later become premiers of British Columbia.
The current model for independent education in British Columbia was established by the Independent School Act of 1989, a proposal that passed through the British Columbia legislature with the support of both the governing Social Credit Party and the official opposition, the NDP.
[11] The province disburses funds to each public school based on a per student full time equivalent formula.
They receive 50% of the per student full time equivalent funding as the public schools in their district and may award Dogwood Diplomas.
Although they share many of the same requirements as Group 1 or 2 schools and may award a Dogwood Diploma, they are not eligible for public funding.
In British Columbia, there is often confusion about who counts as a homeschooled child due to the existence of online public and independent schools.
[16] In order to graduate from high school in British Columbia with a Dogwood Diploma, students are required by the province to earn a minimum of 80 credits in grades 10–12.