As enrolment continues to grow, more students in the K-12 public education system are benefiting from increased investments and additional teachers supporting students.

“Because of our strong economy, more and more families are choosing to make B.C. their home and as a result, enrolment in our public schools is growing,” said Rob Fleming, Minister of Education. “Investing in education is the key to a better future and a prosperous economy. I am proud our government is fulfilling our commitment to support students and teacher hiring.”

An additional $175 million is being invested this year to support students and more than $431 million is being provided for districts to hire up to 3,900 teachers through the Classroom Enhancement Fund. This funding, along with the boosts to meet growing enrolments over the past two years, means that compared to the 2016-17 school year, an additional $591 million has been invested in students. 

As of September 2018, an additional 5,564 full-time equivalent students are enrolled in B.C.’s schools compared to the year before. The districts with the highest growth are:

• Surrey (+1,152)
• Central Okanagan (+596)
• Greater Victoria (+384)
• Sooke (+373)
• Abbotsford (+321)

“The BC School Trustees Association is pleased that school districts will receive full funding for all of the additional students who arrived in schools this September. The Ministry of Education’s ongoing commitment to fully fund rising student numbers including students with special needs is significant,” said Gordon Swan, president, British Columbia School Trustees Association. “We look forward to continuing collaboration with Minister Fleming toward ensuring these commitments to sustainable student funding will continue into the future.”

Most districts are growing, as 45 of B.C.’s 60 school districts had enrolment increases, while 15 saw declines. Student enrolment is up for the fourth year in a row — nearly 21,000 school-age students have been added in that period.

Quick Facts:

• In total, there were 542,650 students (full-time equivalent) enrolled in B.C.’s public schools in September 2018, up from 537,086 (full-time equivalent) in September 2017.
• Many districts have stable enrolments — 19 districts had fluctuations of fewer than 25 students.
• Budget 2018 invests $6.6 billion for 2018-19 for B.C.’s education system.

Learn More:

Funding information for each school district can be found here: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/education-training/k-12/administration/resource-management/k-12-funding-and-allocation/operating-grants/k12funding-18-19

To view the backgrounder, with enrolment breakdowns for each school district, visit: https://news.gov.bc.ca/files/Backgrounder_Enrolment.pdf