The Ontario government announced on Monday it will invest $50 million into publicly assisted colleges in the province.

Deb Matthews, advanced education and skills development minister, said the announcement comes as the provincial government is marking 50 years since the Ontario college system was established.

Matthews, speaking at George Brown College in Toronto, said that the money will be used to enhance student learning and enable colleges to buy software for teaching, new lab and shop equipment, and technology to modernize classrooms.

"We have to really use the $50 million to commemorate 50 years of colleges. We really do believe that investing in post-secondary education is a great way to grow the economy," she said.

Matthews said the money will support what the province calls the Northern Colleges Collaboration, a partnership among Ontario's six public colleges with the aim of improving access to education in the North.

About 220,000 students are enrolled full-time at Ontario's 24 publicly-assisted colleges.