Canadian College : On a distant college campus in northern Canada, the majority of students in classrooms hail from India.
Once drawing students primarily from Ontario’s sparsely populated mining and logging region, Northern College now sees a remarkable 82% of its students coming from abroad, predominantly from India.
Canadian College Draws
The phenomenon of a Canadian college, situated in an obscure town with subarctic winters, becoming a hub for Indian students reflects the complex dynamics impacting the nation. Budget cuts have compelled public colleges and universities to rely on the higher tuitions paid by international students.
These institutions serve as a pathway to permanent Canadian residence for foreign students, aiding Canada in addressing labour shortages and boosting productivity.
However, this heavy reliance on Indian students, identified as a long-term risk by the province’s auditor general, poses challenges to the survival of Ontario’s public colleges.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s accusations against the Indian government in September, alleging involvement in the killing of a Canadian Sikh separatist, created ripples across Ontario’s educational institutions.
The strained relations between Canada and India, marked by denials of involvement and the expulsion of Canadian diplomats, have prompted Northern College officials, where most of foreign students are Indian, to seek diversification by intensifying efforts to recruit students from Africa and Indonesia.
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