Canada: College Revokes Admission Letters of Hundreds of Int’l Students for a Second Time

Northern College, based in Ontario, has revoked the admission letters of hundreds of international students, leaving the latter struggling and uncertain about their studies.

This is the second time that the college has decided to revoke international student admissions, Erudera.com reports.

Earlier this summer, Northern College told about 500 international students they wouldn’t be able to pursue their studies at the college because a large number of visa applications led to course oversubscription.

Now, once more, the college has informed another 200 students, the majority from India, that they are unable to continue their education at the institution.

Responding to CBC Toronto, Ontario’s Ministry of Colleges and Universities said that colleges have the authority to make admission decisions, describing the rate of revoked admissions as “small.”

However, the president of the International Sikh Student Association, Jaspreet Singh, said that colleges should not be permitted to admit more students than they can host.

“Sending offer letters to more students than the college can accept — what he calls “overbooking seats” — is not just a way to sustain the institution, he said, but also a source of profit,” Singh told CBC, pointing out that both, colleges and the government are profiting while students are the ones who are suffering.

In July this year, the college sent emails to 500 international students, informing them that they would not be able to attend campus this academic year because their admission had been revoked. Some of these students were already in Canada when they were notified regarding the revocation.

Back then, the Northern College blamed the government for approving more student visas than it could effectively accommodate.

According to media reports, of the 500 students whose admission letters were revoked, 250 were admitted to Centennial College, while others will be compensated with a full tuition refund.

International students in Canada have reported similar difficulties in the past. In May 2022, Alpha College of Business and Technology canceled enrollment for hundreds of students.

Canada continues to be one the most popular study destinations for international students, ranking alongside the United States and the UK, but when compared to these destinations, Canada is considered much more affordable.

Last year, there were more than 800,000 international students in Canada, government figures show. Over the last decade, Canada witnessed a 170 percent increase in international student enrollment.

Within one year, specifically between 2021 and 2022, the increase in international students was 31 percent.