– Hundreds of international students, including a large number of Sikh students from Punjab, have had their enrolments suspended by the College, despite having paid upwards of $15,000 in tuition. The College claims that it has insufficient resources to enroll the students this semester – WSO
– Three prominent Sikh organizations have written to the leaders of Ontario’s political parties calling on them to address what they call a “crisis” of exploitative practices affecting International Students in Ontario.
– The plight of international students is now a full-blown crisis.
By Surbhi Gogia
The statement about the mental stress of international students came right from the heart of Jaspreet Singh who was protesting for over a week outside an Ontario college over the abrupt suspension of many students’ enrolment for the Spring 2022 semester. Students staged a sit-in protest, lasting over seven days to draw attention to their predicament and demand justice from the College.
CBC reported that many students of the Alpha College of Business and Technology were protesting outside since they had paid “upwards of $15,000 in tuition” and yet “their enrolment has been unilaterally suspended — placing their study permits in jeopardy.”
They were told by the College that they would have to take a drop semester, despite many having been attending online classes for the past two weeks and having already paid their enrollment fees. Some students were told that they could enroll again in September and others, in the January 2023 semester. Affected students have not been provided refunds as the College continues to hold hundreds of thousands of dollars of the students’ tuition fees without providing any education or support, World Sikh Organization (WSO) said in a statement.
Jaspreet Singh, an international student from Bhatinda, Punjab came to Canada in September 2021 to study at Alpha College. Talking to the LINK about his and other students’ plight, said, he along with many other international students did not receive any timetable from the college at the beginning of the semester whereas the classes had already started. “When we went to the college to know what the issue was, we were sent from one campus to another without any satisfactory response. And then the same email was sent out to most of us.”
“After repeated attempts, some of us including me got our timetables. But many were still left without any answers, and they decided to organize. I joined my other fellows who were still left without any answers,” he informed.
The students protested day and night outside the college. Organizations like Khalsa Aid and World Sikh Organization stepped up their support once reports of the College allegedly suspending enrolment, started emerging on social media and national media platforms. The College issued a statement on May 23 that it would like “to make it public that all Spring 2022 fully paid returning students have now been issued a time-table. Additionally, the Alpha College team has also worked through the weekend to issue enrolment letters to all returning students.”
Jaspreet said that although according to the College the issue seemed resolved, students have expressed a lack of trust in the College administration because of a different set of information coming from officials about the enrolment.
The Canadian Federation of Students – Ontario informed that students were met with strong resistance and security presence, with security personnel throwing away their personal belongings to deter them from protesting.
Jaspreet said the stress and mental harassment that the students have gone, through is beyond imaginary. “I have seen students crying because their future and money were at stake. I personally feel if there was no protest someone would have committed suicide.”
WSO too said that the unreasonable actions of the College have had a severe impact on the lives of these students, both in India and Canada, including financial hardship and mental and emotional stress. “The College needs to recognize the severe impact its actions are having on these students. These students have left their homes to come to Canada to study and are paying tuition fees that are much higher than domestic students. Many of their families have sold their land to send their children here to pursue their education. Forcing students to take one or more drop semesters because the College didn’t plan properly on how to accommodate them is hurtful and unreasonable,” said Tejinder Singh Sidhu, WSO.
Along with WSO, many local organizations have stepped out in support of the students. Khalsa Aid, the organization with a mandate to support people affected by natural disasters played an important role to support students with food and other supplies while they were protesting. Manpreet Singh, director, Khalsa Aid, Ontario, called it “a systematic process of exploitation” where children who have paid their tuition, followed all the rules, and done everything got their enrolment deferred. He said that it has become a pattern for many private colleges to charge multiple levels of fee.
Three prominent Sikh organizations, the Ontario Gurdwaras Committee, Khalsa Aid Canada, and the World Sikh Organization of Canada, have written to the leaders of Ontario’s political parties calling on them to address what they call a “crisis” of exploitative practices affecting International Students in Ontario.
The letter mentions it is now clear that the plight of international students has reached a crisis state in Ontario. Many Private Career Colleges are generating large profits at the expense of international students while engaging in exploitative practices and not providing adequate education or support. As a result, international students are encountering serious financial hardships, deteriorating mental health, immigration complications, and an overall loss of trust in the Canadian post-secondary education system.
Canadian Federation of Students too reported a similar situation. It said that upon landing in Canada and paying upwards of over $30,000 a year in tuition fees, students find themselves scrambling to retain their status as they often find out that their courses do not meet the requirements to apply for a valid Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP). This happens for multiple reasons, with the most common ones being unofficial ‘drops’, or the institution not being a Designated Learning Institute (DLI). With various colleges in Québec and British Columbia already being scrutinized by the government for malpractice, Ontario is now experiencing a similar and growing trend with the rise of such institutions.
The letter that was sent out to the politicians states that “St. Lawrence College was listed as one of five colleges that had more international students at private career colleges than what they were allowed. In a report released in December 2021, The Auditor General of Ontario found that if St. Lawrence College were to suddenly lose their partnerships with private career colleges, the college would face a $6.51 million dollar deficit next year. It is clear that St. Lawrence College and its affiliate, Alpha College are treating international students like cash cows and not providing them the education and respect they deserve.”
The exploitation of international students is not, however, limited to just St. Lawrence College. Students at other private career colleges in Ontario are complaining of similar practices.
“We call on you to publicly commit to reviewing and revising private career college accountability measures and the public-private partnership framework to ensure current and future student harms are addressed,” said Amarjeet Mann, Spokesperson, Ontario Gurdwaras Committee.
International students are responsible for almost 40 percent of all tuition fees across Canada. International students generated about $1.7 billion in 2019; 62% of these students came from India. The exploitation of international students spans from the unethical practices of ‘agents’ and college recruiters to a lack of resources and supports provided to students by the colleges to a lack of affordable housing and exploitation by unscrupulous employers. A significant number of despondent international students have died from suicide. In short, the plight of international students is now a full-blown crisis.
