Singh said he had paid $10,500 in tuition to Pacific Link College for the classes he’d attended, and he wanted his transcripts. But the college told him that to get the documents, he would have to pay at least $6,000.
Feeling helpless, Singh turned to Jagrup Brar, NDP MLA for Surrey-Fleetwood. Brar’s office reviewed his case and concluded Pacific Link College had no authority to compel him to pay for transcripts.Article contentBrar referred Singh to One Voice Canada Foundation, an organization founded in 2019 that grew out of an awareness that many international students faced exploitation and mistreatment by some training institutes, education agents, employers and landlords.
Saran arranged a meeting in 2019 with Pacific Link’s then-vice-president, Tarun Khullar, and Singh. Khullar is now Pacific Link’s CEO. Canadian education and immigration agents must register with the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants or a Canadian law society to legally offer Canadian immigration advice for a fee. But agents abroad are outside of Canadian jurisdiction and don’t have to register.
Colleges in Canada benefit because international students pay significantly higher tuition than domestic students. For example, the digital media studies management science program at Pacific Link College was $22,486 for international students and $13,986 for domestic students.Article contentIn Canada, many institutions use agents to attract international students.
In B.C., students from India are the most common at 34 per cent of all international students, followed by Chinese students at 18 per cent. As international student populations have increased, so too have the number of small institutions. Over the past 10 years, at least 160 new institutions received B.C. education quality assurance designations as post-secondary institutions. To be eligible for the designation, an institution must undergo a ministry review.
From June 2021 to June 2022, 39 complaints from domestic and international students were received, 12 about public institutions and 27 about private institutions. Eight were found to have merit and the ministry contacted the institution to resolve the complaint.Article content