Jalandhar: Around 2,000 international students – most from Punjab, some learning online and some on study visas – are left in the lurch with three private colleges in Canada’s Montreal city suddenly closing.
Canada’s CBC News has reported that all three colleges have filed for creditor protection. In the court filing, the colleges blamed the COVID-19 pandemic for some of their financial troubles. A Canadian MP told The Wire that other legal criteria were also not met by these colleges.
The three colleges first announced long winter vacations from November 30, 2021 to January 10, 2022. Then, just before closing, the authorities asked the students to deposit pending fees within one week. This amount of money ranged from Canadian $ 15,000 to 29,500, which come to between Rs9 lakh and Rs17.70 lakh.
While some students managed to pay the hefty fees, many could not.
The three colleges are Collège de comptabilité et de secrétariat du Québec (CCSQ), College de I’Estrie (CDE) and M College.
CCSQ has two campuses at Longueuil and Sherbrooke and offered courses in accounting, secretarial studies, medical, computing and legal studies.
CDE offered six courses in business and administration and information technology. M College’ in LaSalle had four courses in business, health and technology.
Among the 2,000 affected students, 1,173 were studying in person, in the three private colleges in Montreal. As many as 637 students were pursuing studies through online classes from home in Punjab.
The students are aged between 18 and 22 years. Some are also from Haryana and Gujarat and had been eagerly waiting for on campus learning to begin.
On January 29, 2022, left with no option, students under the banner of ‘Montreal Youth-Student Organization’ (MYSO) held a rally at Gurudwara Guru Nanak Darbar at LaSalle in Montreal demanding justice in their case. They also handed a letter in this regard to the Minister of Education of Canada, the Indian Ambassador to Canada, the Montreal MP and various ministers of the opposition.
Students of CCSQ, CDE and M College at a protest at the Gurdwara Guru Nanak Darbar at LaSalle in Montreal after the closure of their colleges. Photo: By arrangement
At the rally, the students demanded visa refunds for those in India, refund of fees, opportunity to complete studies for students in the three closed colleges, graduation of students with the Certificat d’Acceptation du Québec, a mandatory document for students to study and work in Quebec province, study permits and travel without any hassle to students who have obtained study visas.
They threatened to intensify protests if their demands were not addressed.
Talking to The Wire from Montreal, Varun Khanna, a former student and now a Permanent Resident of Canada, who led the rally said, “The hapless students and their parents, who have spent roughly around Rs 16 to 17 lakh on their child’s education in Canada are disturbed. The study visas of 95% students back home in Punjab, who were taking online classes, have been refused by the Canadian government. At the same time, 70% of students in Montreal, who were in their last semester, are now stuck. Lastly, the future of 30% freshers, who joined college last year is also at stake.” The Wire
