The escalating tensions between India and Canada
have raised concerns among parents about the huge investments in their
children’s education in Canada.
Analysis revealed this investment as an outflow of a
staggering Rs 68,000 crore each year from Punjab, reported Khalsa Vox.
According to the Khalsa Vox, last year total 226,450
visas were approved by Canada under the Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC),
and a significant portion, approximately 1.36 lakh students, hailed from
Punjab. These students are pursuing various courses with an average duration of
two to three years.
The current data from student visa processing
agencies suggest that around 3.4 lakh Punjabi students are currently studying
in various educational institutions across Canada.
As per the Khalsa Vox, the Chairman of the
Association of Consultants for Overseas Studies, Kamal Bhumla said, “Based on
the figures available to us, nearly 60 per cent of Indians migrating to Canada
are Punjabi, accounting for an estimated 1.36 lakh students, who went last
year. On average, each student pays approximately 17,000 Canadian dollars in
annual fees, in addition to depositing 10,200 Canadian dollars as Guaranteed
Investment Certificate (GIC) funds.”
He informed that only 38,000 Punjabis were applying
for Canada each year until 2008 but the numbers are now booming at multiple
folds pace.
A senior official from a prominent forex company in
Jalandhar added, “We often observe that the average expenditure incurred by
Punjabi parents to send their children to Canada on a student visa amounts to
approximately Rs 20 lakh per year. Extrapolating from this data, it is safe to
estimate that there are at least 3.4 lakh Punjabi students in Canada,
collectively contributing Rs 68,000 crore annually to the Land of the Maple
Leaf.”
The Khalsa Vox publication reported that the surge
of Punjabi students on Canadian campuses is a noteworthy trend, with nearly 60
per cent of all Indian students moving to Canada being of Punjabi origin.
Approximately 1.36 lakh Punjabi students made the
journey to Canada last year, with each student paying an average annual fee of
amount 17,000 Canadian dollars as stated by the Chairman of the Association of
Consultants for Overseas Studies, Kamal Bhumla.
ANI
