SPP boosts Canada study visas
Canada's Student Partners Program (SPP) for India has proved to be a big success. No wonder, Indian students' admissions to Canadian community colleges has seen an upswing since last year.
CANADA'S STUDNENT Partners Program (SPP) for India has proved to be a big success. No wonder, Indian students’ admissions to Canadian community colleges has seen an upswing since last year. The SPP has been extended until the end of this year. “Provided all your papers are in order, the Canada High Commission can grant you a visa in two weeks,” said Kamal K. Bhumbla, the CEO of Jalandhar based BN Overseas Educational Services, in an interview with R.M.S. Atwal.
Bumbla, an advocate by profession, has been in overseas study business for close to a decade and a half.
Excerpts from the interview:
Q. How is Canada’s SPP helping Indian students?
Ans First thing is the SPP has reduced the visa granting time to two weeks and it has open more educational opportunities for our students. With the result more number of (genuine) students are going to Canada now. Initially started with 20 Canadian community colleges, the program has now been extended to 38 colleges. The visa success rate has gone up through this program…Initially it was a pilot project (experimental basis with a few community colleges) but now has been extended until the end of this year (September intake) following its great success.
Q. The general perception about community colleges in North America is that they are as good as government colleges in India. What’s your take on this?
Ans: I must say that community colleges in Canada and the US are one of the best colleges. Funded by government, their education level is very high and they offer all sorts of courses, mainly job-oriented ones. You can’t compare their level with those of Indian colleges. Overall in Canada the education level is very high and tuition fees too are quite affordable,
Q. Can we say, Australia’s loss is Canada’s gain now?
Ans: No, we can’t say that because in Australia the scenario was totally different. Australia and the UK enrolled students even with study gaps while for Canada it is not the case. A student has to justify the gap… there has never been any competition among Australia, the UK and Canada… The later accepts 5.5 as an IELTS score for couple of community colleges (undergrad courses). But Canada does not accept less than 6.0 as a band score for post graduation…there might be certain consultants who might be accepting students ‘without IELTS’ but in my opinion it is totally wrong. Some private colleges may be accepting them but it is very difficult to get visa without the IELTS.
Q. Don’t you think the Canada High Commission is now extra-vigilant in granting student visas in view of many cases of fraudulent documentation?
Ans: I must say, they have been vigilant from the day one only. Traditionally, getting a student visa for Canada has been always tough. The only noticeable change is now they have reduced the paperwork. Under the SPP only seven documents are required.
Q. An average Indian parent is very much concerned about the cost of Canadian education. How affordable is it?
Ans: Oh yes, it is very much affordable. For a one year course, it comes to 10-12,000 Canadian dollars. It is much cheaper compared to Australia and the UK. Under the SPP a student loan is mandatory and most of the Indian banks are quite ready in providing financial assistance.
Q. Could you recommend certain study courses which can lead to an easy permanent residency for our students?
Ans: Courses related to IT, networking, accounting, business and animation… mainly job-oriented courses can be beneficial for our students.
Q. How difficult is to get a job following study completion?
Ans: Finding a job has been always tough. But a student who has some level of English, he/she will able to find a part-time job after 3-4 months of landing in Canada. Similarly, if you have some knowledge of computers, things become easy for you. The point is how good your English is and how skillful you are.
Q. As an experienced study visa consultant, what advice you would like to give to Indian students thinking of flying to Canada?
Ans: I would say, students should be ever vigilant about the country they are going to. In this modern age information age, they should do good research about Canada over the Net. Without blind faith on the agent, they should make an informed choice about the colleges and courses they are going to opt for. I do agree some agents do paint a rosy picture about a country, although it might be difficult for them initially in a foreign country, but gradually things will get easier once they get a job.
Ans First thing is the SPP has reduced the visa granting time to two weeks and it has open more educational opportunities for our students. With the result more number of (genuine) students are going to Canada now. Initially started with 20 Canadian community colleges, the program has now been extended to 38 colleges. The visa success rate has gone up through this program…Initially it was a pilot project (experimental basis with a few community colleges) but now has been extended until the end of this year (September intake) following its great success.
Q. The general perception about community colleges in North America is that they are as good as government colleges in India. What’s your take on this?
Ans: I must say that community colleges in Canada and the US are one of the best colleges. Funded by government, their education level is very high and they offer all sorts of courses, mainly job-oriented ones. You can’t compare their level with those of Indian colleges. Overall in Canada the education level is very high and tuition fees too are quite affordable,
Q. Can we say, Australia’s loss is Canada’s gain now?
Ans: No, we can’t say that because in Australia the scenario was totally different. Australia and the UK enrolled students even with study gaps while for Canada it is not the case. A student has to justify the gap… there has never been any competition among Australia, the UK and Canada… The later accepts 5.5 as an IELTS score for couple of community colleges (undergrad courses). But Canada does not accept less than 6.0 as a band score for post graduation…there might be certain consultants who might be accepting students ‘without IELTS’ but in my opinion it is totally wrong. Some private colleges may be accepting them but it is very difficult to get visa without the IELTS.
Q. Don’t you think the Canada High Commission is now extra-vigilant in granting student visas in view of many cases of fraudulent documentation?
Ans: I must say, they have been vigilant from the day one only. Traditionally, getting a student visa for Canada has been always tough. The only noticeable change is now they have reduced the paperwork. Under the SPP only seven documents are required.
Q. An average Indian parent is very much concerned about the cost of Canadian education. How affordable is it?
Ans: Oh yes, it is very much affordable. For a one year course, it comes to 10-12,000 Canadian dollars. It is much cheaper compared to Australia and the UK. Under the SPP a student loan is mandatory and most of the Indian banks are quite ready in providing financial assistance.
Q. Could you recommend certain study courses which can lead to an easy permanent residency for our students?
Ans: Courses related to IT, networking, accounting, business and animation… mainly job-oriented courses can be beneficial for our students.
Q. How difficult is to get a job following study completion?
Ans: Finding a job has been always tough. But a student who has some level of English, he/she will able to find a part-time job after 3-4 months of landing in Canada. Similarly, if you have some knowledge of computers, things become easy for you. The point is how good your English is and how skillful you are.
Q. As an experienced study visa consultant, what advice you would like to give to Indian students thinking of flying to Canada?
Ans: I would say, students should be ever vigilant about the country they are going to. In this modern age information age, they should do good research about Canada over the Net. Without blind faith on the agent, they should make an informed choice about the colleges and courses they are going to opt for. I do agree some agents do paint a rosy picture about a country, although it might be difficult for them initially in a foreign country, but gradually things will get easier once they get a job.
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