Like the rest of Québec province, Montréal has
two public school systems, one for French speakers
and one for English speakers. The Charter of the
French Language (1977), known as Bill 101, restricts
access to English-language schools and requires
children of immigrants to be educated in French.
As a result, French-language schools became increasingly
multiethnic.
With four universities, Montréal is one of the
leading centres of higher education in Canada.
There are two English-language institutions: McGill
University (1821) and Concordia University (1974).
Their French-language counterparts are the Université
de Montréal (1876) and the University of Québec
at Montréal (1969). Both private and state universities
are funded by the province on a similar footing.
The metropolitan area also has 16 public community
colleges and 15 private institutions that offer
some college-level training.
