Ottawa should lighten international students’ tuition load

STORY BY SATYARTH MISHRA

Sheridan non-Canadian students feel the heavy burden of fees, especially those that come from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Thailand – all countries where currency is low compared to the Canadian dollar. Yet despite the exorbitant fees, many are willing to pay.

“Most students from Third World countries paying tuition fees consider it an investment in study,” said Harish Rajan, a Game Level Design post-graduate student. “After completing college, we hurry to get a job and recover our money.”

Sometimes the college issues a SIN number very late to international students to work off campus and we feel very stressed.
Pooja Bajaj

Davis Campus student

More than a quarter-million international students came to Canada in 2012, according to Maclean’s magazine. Each spent on average $31,000 in one year on post secondary education.

Many students apply for a loan to study abroad. It costs them a lot to enroll in foreign schools, particularly in North America, especially when their have to convert their money into dollars. For example, one loonie is worth 96.73 Pakistani Rupees.

Sixty per cent of the Pakistani population lives on less than $2 a day, according to the World Bank. Even students from upper middle class families have to apply for for a large loans to study in Canada. To cover their costs, many international students work illegally and without work permits.

One expert at Sheridan understands why so many are willing to pay so much to be here.

“International students know if they get a job, they can recover all their tuition fees,” said Melvin Philip, an international student at Trafalgar Campus. “For an example, if I am spending  $15,000 to study, I can recover it from work in one year.”

“In Canada, minimum wage and labour laws are good as compared to [some other] countries. That’s why students are able to cover their expenses and can do study while working part time jobs,” said Philip.

In Ontario minimum wage is $10.25 per hour. The government is trying to attract more and more students to study in Canada and have even set up the Student Partners Program to help. The scheme connects international students to community colleges within Canada. It also provides a streamlined study permit application process for students planning to attend a SPP member school.

Yet even with assistance from Ottawa, international students still face bureaucracy and red tape when they arrive.

“Sometimes the college issues a SIN number very late to international students to work off campus and we feel very stressed that time,” said Pooja Bajaj, a Business Finance student at Davis Campus. “In such situations, many students started thinking about working illegally off campus because they had to pay their bills, rent or sometimes have to purchase college textbooks,” said Bajaj.

According to a federal report on the economic impact of international education in Canada, “in total, the annual expenditure of $8 billion by international students translates to almost $4.9 billion [to our] GDP, 86,570 jobs, and $455 million of government tax revenue.”

Canada is now the seventh most popular destination for study abroad in the world with international students providing the Canadian government with such a boost in the economy, Ottawa should consider legislation that makes it more flexible for international students to come here and learn.