Over the last two years, international students, especially from India, China, Vietnam and the Philippines, have been facing difficulty in securing admissions at the community colleges in Canada. This discomfort can be attributed to rapidly growing numbers of international student from these countries against the limited capacity of the schools. Seats fill up quickly; in some cases, when community colleges decide to open the admission gate for specific courses, they fill up in moments. That was not the case some years ago.
Seeing this, one could start scratching his head and ask himself, “Where
does this overnight demand come from?”
There could be multiple answers to such questions. Here is my perspective
to this continuing dearth of seats for students:
Under the Student Partner Program (SPP) which was introduced by the
Canadian Immigration Department almost a decade back, the numbers of Indian and
Chinese students were going up every year. The scarcity of the place at the community
colleges was firstly experienced in the year 2013. Some schools filled up in
the blink of the eyes. However, not all the colleges were beneficiary of this
boom but that was the cursor to the deteriorating situation. In the following
year, international students started experiencing the same. This did not end
there. The government of Canada decided to add other countries, such as Philippines
and Vietnam not far long ago and replaced the SPP program with the Student
Direct Stream (SDS). I believe this was the tipping point, and it looks like
the situation is not going to get better in the years to come.
Ergo, we advise students to be early and fast in having their
applications processed. There is a never-ending queue and if they are late in
applying for the school, probably they will miss the bus.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) introduces the new study permit guidelines for students from India, China, Vietnam and the Philippines.
Since April 2009, the ambitious plan called the Student Partners Program (SPP) had been operational in India until three days back. The success of this proactive plan to invite international students, especially from India and China was evident and was all set to invite a great number of students year on year basis. Because of the consistency of this visa policy program, IRCC witnessed a multifold rise in the student number from India and other countries.
With the grand success of SPP, IRCC is making great strides in promoting Canada as a study destination for international students by implementing efficient ways to process study permits. Now, the government has decided to replace the SPP with the Student Direct Stream (SDS). The SDS visa framework is effective from 9th June 2018 in four countries: India, China, Vietnam and the Philippines. More importantly, the Government of Canada is working on expanding this SDS program to Africa and contemplating adding Kenya and Senegal. Senegal seems to be getting priority because it has a rich French colonial heritage. Recently, we have seen the government is keen on inviting international students and intended immigrants who are proficient in French language to meet the acute needs of the French speaking manpower in certain industries and in various pockets of the country. Senegal fits into this story!
All these four countries and probably along with the new entrants i.e. Africa, Kenya and Senegal would be aligned together into one program to ensure the operational smoothness and consistency.
What all new changes have been introduced in the SDS program? Let’s study the existing policies versus the previous ones:
SDS
SPP
Tuition payment for the first year of study at a designated community college in Canada
Tuition payment for the first semester of study at a designated community college in Canada
No CHANGE
Purchase of a Guaranteed Investment Certificate (GIC) of $10,000
A qualifying score of at least 6 in IELTS, with no less than 6.0 band in any module*
A qualifying score of at least 6 band overall in IELTS, with no less than 5.5 band in any module
* The Government website doesn’t clarify the score of individual module, but the country-specific-checklist does.
All these new changes have now become a reality. What ramifications could we expect from these new changes in the context of Indian students wishing to study in Canada?
The upfront tuition payment for the first year: To date, parents/sponsors have been paying the one semester tuition fees before the final application for a study permit was lodged. For example, if we take the average of annual tuition fee of any community college on the upper side it comes to around CAD$ 14,000 (₹ 756,000). The Indian students paid around CAD$ 7,000 (₹ 378,000) for being the first semester tuition fees plus CAD$ 10,000 for purchase of a GIC. This totaled to CAD$17,000 (₹ 918,000). With this new SDS program, the upfront tuition payment doubles to CAD$ 14,000. It means students would be making the payment of CAD$ 24,000 (CAD$14,000 + CAD$ 10,000). So, the total expense comes to around ₹ 1,296,000 against INR 918,000, an increase by ₹ 378,000.
Students whose parents are struggling with finances take a hit with this new change. Unequivocally, this new policy is better for the Government of Canada but may not bring happiness for some Indian students. Further, looking at the hawkish stance of the RBI in India it seems that the interest rate would go up whereby the educational bank loan would also become expensive in the months to come. In a nutshell, with this SDS program parents would have a double whammy of loan interest increases and the burden of additional payment of one semester tuition fee.
A qualifying score of IELTS: As I do not have the official statistics about the median individual score of IELTS of the Indian students, I am presenting my assumptions.
If we were to believe that students wishing to study in Canada needed minimum 6.0 band in each module of the IELTS test, there would certainly be a massive amount of frustration among students. Over the decades, we have seen students slide by 0.5 band score at least in one of the individual modules, especially either in Writing section or Reading section. Some students may manage to keep their nerve and win over this difficulty, but NOT all for sure. Consequently, students really need to prepare well for the IELTS test or they may face desperation and loss of the hard-earned money after paying for the test repeatedly.
Any new change either brings the luck or puts someone down: One man’s nightmare is another man’s dream. Ergo, some students will be caught in the crossfire of a silent scream.
Who will be reaping the harvest of SDS?
It goes without saying that British Council and IDP would be the greatest beneficiaries of this new change of the test score revision. Their numbers are already on the rise, and they could witness another 20% to 25% growth for Academic IELTS in the Indian market.
Paragon Testing Enterprises which is a subsidiary of University of British Columbia has finally decided to open a testing center in India by the end of Summer 2018. The first test center will be opened in the capital, New Delhi.
The CELPIP test center stands for Canadian English Language Proficiency Index Program (CELPIP). The CELPIP is a 100% Canadian English test designed for permanent residence status. There are two designated tests accepted as evidence of English language proficiency by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) for immigration purpose – one is CELPIP and the other is IELTS General module.
The CELPIP test is developed by Paragon Testing Enterprises, a subsidiary of University of British Columbia. It is the first-ever Canadian English test which is designated by IRCC and mirrors the best in Canadian research. The test is designed to give prominence to Canadian English and accents as used in Canada.
The best part of CELPIP is it measures your functional language proficiency which is more relevant for day-to-day life. It focuses on test taker’s English abilities in a variety of different situations and contexts, such as how you communicate with your colleagues and others at workplace, interact with your friends, comprehend and respond to the written materials and understand news items. It is a complete measurement of your English abilities which include four modules of your language skills: Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking.
The CELPIP comes in two versions: the CELPIP – General test and the CELPIP – General LS test. Those who intend to immigrate to Canada can take the CELPIP General test to fulfill the requirement of English language proficiency for IRCC.
Vinod’s reading and observations span sports momentous events, politics – both national and international, student visa, macroeconomics, equity markets, animal betterment and other social issues – yet always retains enlightenment and fun with sarcasm. www.vinodgambtoo.com
