Punjab Colleges See Surge in Admissions Amid Canada’s Tightened Student Visa Policies
"With stricter immigration rules and rising costs in Canada, more students are opting for local institutions, pushing cut-offs and enrollments to record highs."
Source – theprint.in / Representational image | Wikimedia Commons
Punjab’s higher education institutions have seen a steep increase in the number of admissions this year, with cut-offs for some courses closing upwards of 90 percent. Now, with Canada’s decision of slashing international student permits by 35 percent this year and another 10 percent next year, the trend is likely to continue for the foreseeable future.
In a post on social media platform ‘X’ late Wednesday night, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wrote, “Immigration is an advantage for our economy—but when bad actors abuse the system and take advantage of students, we crack down.”
In Patiala’s Punjabi University, 24 departments enrolled close to 2,000 students in Bachelors and integrated courses this year, compared to 1,700 in 2023. At nine colleges affiliated to Panjab University, Chandigarh, admissions soared by nearly 2,000 students, data provided by the university shows.
College principals and university officials whom ThePrint spoke to attributed this sharp rise to students’ inability to immigrate to Canada due to the changes in the immigration policy that include no work permits for undergraduate students, and higher Guaranteed Investment Certificate requirement that makes immigration more expensive. To top it up, housing in Canada has become costlier and difficult to find.
“Generally, students choose to go to Canada for their undergraduate studies. But this year, students have been unable to afford migrating abroad. They are hearing that part-time jobs in Canada are not available, and rent for houses has also risen,” Vikram Gupta, nodal officer of Khalsa college, Patiala said.
Khalsa College has enrolled 8,700 students this year—a dramatic rise of 58 percent in the intake compared to 2022, Gupta said.
The Dean of Punjabi University Balwinder Singh Saini, said that after a downturn in admissions for the past three-four years owing to the huge rush of students flocking to Canada, university admissions have significantly increased this year, as a consequence of the changes in Ottawa’s policy.
“For example, in my department (Mechanical Engineering), we saw 67 admissions last year, of which only 51 students stayed. This year, we have already admitted 126 students,” Saini told ThePrint over the phone.
