British Columbia is banning new post-secondary institutions from applying to enroll international students for the next two years, as the province roots out “exploitive practices” plaguing the system.

Post-Secondary Education Minister Selina Robinson said Monday that the freeze is necessary to correct faults in an international education system that “has not been working as well as it should.”

Robinson said the province began looking into the system last March and found instances of “poor-quality education, a lack of instructors” and even the “scaring away” of students from lodging formal complaints by certain private institutions.

One student, Robinson said, told her that the woman’s family in India saved money to send her to BC for a “quality education.” Instead, she was placed in online classes upon arrival, the minister said.

WATCH | International students weigh in on new limits on international students:

BC’s international students weigh in on Canada’s decision to cap new international student permits

According to the province, 175,000 international students study at public and private colleges. That number is set to drop following Ottawa’s new two-year cap on international student study permits. Our Jon Hernandez went out to learn more from the very people at the heart of