Canada: A well-known NRI businessman and philanthropist from Patara village in Jalandhar offers this piece of advice: Don’t send students to Canada until you can spare Rs 50 lakh as expenses for them for the next five years, in addition to paying the college fee and Guaranteed Investment Certificate (GIC) fee for the first year. Punjabis make up 60% of Indians who travel to Canada on student visas.
NRI’s Observations on Punjabi Students in Canada
Sukhi Bath, a native of Surrey in British Columbia, claims that during the course of his 50 years there, he has kept a careful eye on the Punjabi students there. According to him, students who received enough money for their maintenance for the first five years frequently fell into the trap of making money illegally.
Challenges Faced by Punjabi Students in Canada
“The rents have gone up to 1,600 Canadian dollars a month. Five to six students are being adjusted in one room because of space crunch. There are not as many jobs available as the number of students. The employers too are exploiting them, paying them less for the hours put in. The students are getting stressed, with some taking to drugs and even losing their lives. It is so painful to see such a scenario,” said Bath, who is currently in India. Bath, who owns a car company in Canada, claimed to be familiar with some of these pupils since he frequently interacted with them through his NGO Punjab Bhawan, which has its headquarters in Surrey.
Sukhi Bath’s Efforts to Support Punjabi Students in Canada
“I have been running this NGO without any fund-raiser and regularly hold conferences for Punjabi students where they share their problems and grievances, and we try to address them. We help them contact those providing rental accommodation, jobs, and also help them apply for driving licences and float their resumes,” he said. Bath claimed that despite Punjab sending 68,000 crores of rupees to Canada every year, the Canadian government has not put up a toll-free helpline for these kids.
Sukhi Bath’s Advice to Punjabi Students Planning to Study in Canada
“We have been raising this demand with the government there. The next conference of our NGO is scheduled for October 8-9 at Surrey, so I will be heading back after three days,” he said. He claimed that he had now begun to mentor Punjabi students who wanted to study in Canada. He enumerates the issues of concern. “If you can hold on, try to postpone your plans for Canada. It is not the right time to go as there is an acute shortage of space and jobs. It is not advisable to go right after school as the kids are not groomed here to be independent at the age of 17. Children must first learn to be independent in India. They also need to start cooking on their own. If possible, they must take a short course or classes for such grooming.” He declined to discuss the dispute between India and Canada regarding the murder of Nijjar.
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