Private colleges are big business and they have easier rules to recruit students. In the provinces with the most international students, Ontario now has 476 college and university campuses approved to enroll international students, while B.C. has 256. The number of Canadian study permits granted to foreign nationals has jumped 40 per cent in recent years, to 358,190 last year, from 219,195 in 2015. Canadian Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen has boasted that these students added some $15-billion to the Canadian economy last year alone, reported Globe and Mail. But the reality is something else – exploitation and students buying their way into Canada and the Canadian labour market.
VANCOUVER – International students, many from India, say Canadian private colleges use agents working on commission, both here and overseas, who persuade student recruits that paying tens of thousands of dollars in tuition is the easiest way to get into Canada and work toward becoming a permanent resident, reported Globe and Mail Newspaper.
In some cases, recruits say they signed up for courses they weren’t interested in or didn’t plan to attend because all they really wanted was a student work permit so they could get a job as soon as they arrived.
The criticism of private colleges comes after a recent Globe and Mail investigation reported that recruiters exploit foreign nationals for their money, their labour or both. The cases The Globe looked at affected more than 2,000 people who were told – often falsely – that if they gave recruiters huge fees to arrange jobs or college placements, they would be set for life in Canada.
The reality for international students is that immigration rules allow them to work only 20 hours a week while studying, and provide limited opportunities to stay in Canada after graduation unless they meet language and other requirements and find employers willing to sponsor them.
Since its initial investigation, The Globe has interviewed more than two dozen former and current international students in British Columbia and Ontario who feel disillusioned by their experience.
Some told The Globe they hoped their courses would lead to good jobs in Canada, but they were a waste of time and money because no Canadian business was willing to hire them in their field of study afterward.
Others did not even attend classes. Instead, they say they worked more hours than legally allowed while trying to get a Canadian employer to sponsor them for permanent residency, which then meant applying for a full-time work permit, and often paying more fees to immigration consultants to do the paperwork, Globe and Mail reported.
Devinder Thind came from India and now works at a Nando’s fast-food franchise in B.C. He said he just enrolled in his third college program, to study arts.
Mr. Thind said he has paid $32,500 for courses so far, with money he borrowed mostly from his brother. He did that, he said, simply to maintain his student work permit while trying to persuade his employer to sponsor him. His goal was to get permanent residency and find a much better job.
“The [recruiters] make us fake promises like it is good in Canada, you can get your work permit, and it’s all not true,” he said. “The whole experience was really bad. Lots of people misguided me. They just use us, right?”
Private colleges are big business and they have easier rules to recruit students. In the provinces with the most international students, Ontario now has 476 college and university campuses approved to enroll international students, while B.C. has 256.
Most are for-profit companies, regulated by provincial education authorities. They are generally smaller than publicly funded colleges and universities, face less public scrutiny and have lower admission standards.
The number of Canadian study permits granted to foreign nationals has jumped 40 per cent in recent years, to 358,190 last year, from 219,195 in 2015.
Canadian Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen has boasted that these students added some $15-billion to the Canadian economy last year alone, reported Globe and Mail.
But the reality is something else – exploitation and students buying their way into Canada and the Canadian labour market.
