With 399 Ontario private schools licensed by the Ministry of Education, debate regarding their legitimacy continues to be a topic of discussion.

According to ministry spokesperson Patricia MacNeil, private schools are required to register with the Ministry. However, the government does not oversee aspects of their business — which includes the curriculum.

“On the other hand, if a secondary school wishes to offer credits towards the Ontario Secondary School Diploma, they are inspected for the purpose of doing so,” MacNeil said.

The question arises as to how universities evaluate the transcripts of private school graduates against public school graduates.

According to Lori Gribbon, director of undergraduate recruitment and admissions at Western, as long as the Ministry has approved a school, the university takes the marks at face value.

“We absolutely do not weigh public school and private school grades differently,” April Kemick, media relations officer at the University of Toronto, consented.

“If marks are being inflated at a private school then the Ministry is really the only legitimate body that can look into why that is,” Gribbon said.

While private schools are inspected every two years, MacNeil mentioned more frequent inspections may be conducted if problems or concerns arise.

“The inspection process is quite rigorous and complete. The Ministry has total confidence in its inspection process,” she added.

But while some students pursue private schools for the sole purpose of a better education, others believe it to be an easy way out.

“Everyone at my school was [taking a few courses at private schools] and I figured — why not? It would be an additional good mark,” Nureen Savji, second-year social science student, said.

MacNeil recognized there have been concerns regarding students enrolled in a public school who go outside the public system to take a course or upgrade a mark.

As a possible effort to resolve this, starting this fall the Ministry will include a “P” on students’ transcripts if they take a course outside the publicly-funded system, MacNeil stated.

But while Gribbon appreciated the Ministry’s attempt to address such concerns, she maintained the “P” system would be of little help.

“We have no ability to evaluate if a student deserves that grade. We would not deny a student admission because we may think this mark is illegitimate. We can’t prove it,” Gribbon added.

The debate seems unresolved with students. While some are ready to do anything to get into university, others feel private schools should not be an option.

“I thought it was kind of an easy route out to get marks […] People say that in private schools you are paying for your marks,” said Alisha Somji, a second-year kinesiology student who attended a public high school.

In Somji’s opinion, students coming from a well-known private school may have a better chance of getting into their choice institution as opposed to unknown public schools.

“I think we had an advantage because our guidance counsellor was really well-known and put us in touch with any academic institution we wanted to go to and made sure we got into our first choice,” Sabriya Karim, a second-year health science student who attended a private school, mentioned.

But Grant Martin, a fourth-year music student at Queen’s University, thought his private school experience gave him a learning opportunity rather than just an easy grade.

“I really liked the experience of private school [as compared to] public. Classes were smaller and more intimate,” Martin said. He attended a private high school after finishing four years at a public school.

According to Eveline Kerr, a guidance counsellor at Albert College — a private high school — the fact students are required to focus on extracurricular activities just as much as academics contributes greatly to their success in a post-secondary setting.

“I believe the biggest asset that private schools have is the fact that universities ask for marks but for supplementary forms as well — and that is where private schools shine,” Kerr added.