Another double-digit growth for Canada, but diversity concerns raised

Canada registered another double-digit jump in study permit holders in 2018 with India driving growth and snatching the top position from China, recently-released IRCC figures show, but some stakeholders are now worried about diversity.

According to the figures, there were 572, 415 study permit holders in Canada on December 31 2018 – a 16% jump from the previous year.

India overtook China, with 172,625 study permit holders in the country, a 40% increase since 2017, compared to China’s 142,985 and 2% growth. The country was already on a strong growth trajectory for the past 4 years and had been growing much faster than China.

“The new data from IRCC clearly demonstrate the continuing attractiveness of Canada as a study destination,” newly appointed president and CEO of CBIE Larissa Bezo told The PIE.

Reputation for quality and good value, but most importantly as a safe and tolerant country, all played into Canada’s success.

Bezo added that India’s growth is no surprise. “It is a trend we have been monitoring,” she said, particularly at college level.

In Ontario, Sheridan College’s international business development and partnership manager Gabriela Facchini told The PIE News that she watched the figures “with mixed feelings.”

“Although I am glad that overall the number of student permit holders is up significantly, I wish the increase had been concentrated on markets other than India or China,” she said.

“Canada boasts of being a diversified intercultural nation, but in recent years, this diversity is being lost with big increase of only two nationalities.”

Facchini explained that Canadian institutions are too reliant on Chinese and Indian students, who can constitute between 30% and 70% of the total international student population.

Indeed, the IRCC figures show that together, China and India accounted for more than double the amount of students in Canada than all of the other top-10 countries put together.

Facchini added that the recently extended biometric requirements potentially compound this problem, due to the lack of accessibility to visa centres in certain countries.

“I want to see continued increases in the numbers of study permit holders in the years to come but I think the federal government needs to re-think their strategy of where this increases should be coming from,” she said.

The regional manager for the Americas at Niagara College, Fernando Gama, explained that the predominance of one nationality may prevent diversification efforts, a risk colleges in Ontario may face if the already predominant Indian population keeps growing at this rate, he said.

“Most domestic and international students are not comfortable when one culture is predominant above all others, as this takes away from a truly multicultural environment,” he said.

But as Denise Amyot, president and CEO of CICan, noted, the figures still bring some good news for diversification efforts.

“We are very encouraged to see increased numbers coming from most of the 47 source markets with more than 1000 students in Canada, including very strong growth in Bangladesh, Iran, Vietnam and Algeria,” she said.

“Welcoming a diverse group of international students to Canadian college and institute campuses is more than just good business practice.”

Vietnam and Iran registered impressive growth rates, at 45% and 47% respectively.

However, over-reliance on one market isn’t a problem just for diversification .

“This growth of Indian students is too quick and too soon, which poses risk not only for institutions but also for students. A change in visa policies or regulatory requirements may create serious reversal of trends,” Studyportals’ executive vice-president of global engagement and research Rahul Choudaha told The PIE.

“This is the prime time for institutions to identify and invest in alternative countries to mitigate some of the risks.”

Choudaha explained that Canadian colleges, offering technical and career-oriented programs with cheaper fees than universities and pathways to residence are a winning card for price-sensitive Indian students – while “prestige-conscious” Chinese students are not enrolling at the same rate, he explained.

And another risk is that price sensitivity, coupled with a higher likelihood to pursue migration avenues, could leave Indian students and the industry vulnerable to a potential increase of exploitative practices by rogue providers, as Higher Education Strategy Associates Alex Usher warned.

“The risk, I think, is that we get a lot of low-quality providers coming into the system to try to take advantage of that,” he told The PIE.

Source

The HED magazine for applicants available in Arabic and ChineseThe fifth issue of the quarterly HED magazine has been publishedПодведены итоги конкурса «HED-Scholarship»International students in Russia can start studying without restrictionsУниверситетамWebinar 'Internationalization of higher education' under the aegis of APQN to be held on February 18, 2020The QS expert highly appreciates Valery Falkov's achievements as Rector of Tyumen State UniversityInternational students of Tomsk universities to apply for Russian citizenship by the end of their studiesNorth-Eastern Federal University promotes Russian language and culture in ChinaThe Russian Ministry of Science and Higher Education to review the mechanism of international students' educationScholarships to study in Russia in 2020-2021KazNU expands partnership with leading universities of Saudi ArabiaUzbekistan and Japan will move to a new level of scientific cooperationEU allocates 8 million euros to support education in KyrgyzstanRUDN University has created an integrated space for digital cooperationRussia and China have mapped out joint plans in the field of science and higher educationChina promotes international education in space science and technologyTPU International Week 2019 held in TomskWebinar schedule: Internationalization of higher educationStudy shows which universities lead the way in promotion of summer schoolsThe National Aggregate Ranking of Russian UniversitiesThe Accreditation in Education Journal and the Public Fund Edinstvo have become partnersBelarus and Nigeria are cooperating in the field of educationRussian and Chinese universities have agreed to establish the International Transport AcademySummer schools attract international applicants to Russian universitiesRussian and German experts discussed the issues of university and academic scienceThe 15th FICCI Higher Education Summit in IndiaRussia to create 50 Pre-University Training Centers abroad by 2024More than 30 Russian Universities in the THE rankingRussia will simplify work rights for international studentsThe First Russia-UK University Rectors ForumWebinar 'How understanding neuroscience can help you transform your team and your organization'“MEDIAactivity of Russian universities” and “TOP-50 MEDIAactive Rectors of Russia” announced at InterfaxRUDN and Rosatom will train staff for African projectsIs Africa the future for recruiting international students?Danish Government Scholarships under the Cultural AgreementsOver 7,000 foreign students will study IT at Russian universitiesEuropean Universities Initiative – Chances and challengesBelgian students demand free higher educationUganda and Russia signed a Memorandum of cooperation in higher educationAngola and Russia signed an Agreement on Mutual Recognition of Education, Qualifications and Academic DegreesThe 10th ENQA General Assembly took place in YerevanStudents supported by the Global Education Program choose Australia and Great Britain as study abroad destinationsCall for participation – Webinars under the aegis of APQN devoted to Quality AssuranceRegional universities move up in QS University Rankings: Emerging Europe & Central AsiaNew Model of State Control (Supervision) in EducationHED Webinar under the aegis of APQN took place on October 10, 2019Joint Master's programs to be launched by RANEPA and University of LondonIII Ufa International Education Fair II Baikal International Education Fair
Наверх