Should you still consider Canada for studying abroad?
Canada has been among the most popular destinations for international students across all levels for several decades. This is primarily due to its world-class education, favourable policies, welcoming attitude towards international students, multicultural environment, attractive post-study work permits, and permanent settlement. According to the Immigration Citizenship and Refugee Canada (IRCC), the country had a record-high number of international students with study permits at 1,040,985 in 2023, which is a remarkable 29% increase from 2022.
However, with the influx of students in public-private partnership colleges, many issues emerged, such as compromised quality of education, difficulty in finding accommodation, expensive housing, pHence, while they fix these issues, IRCC has temporarily capped the study permit applications to approximately 600,000 for 2024 so that international students can continue to have a great experience in Canada and get world-class facilities while studying. To manage the cap fairly and transparently, the Canadian govt has introduced the PAL (provincial attestation letter) process for each province of Canada. Each province can issue a limited number of PALs. Hence, each institution within provinces has been allocated a quota of PALs.
PAL is a simple yet mandatory document. Students are not required to do anything additional to get PAL. It is the institute’s responsibility to work with the provincial government to issue PAL for students admitted to their college. The validation of PAL is generally one year, granting students the flexibility to defer if needed without the need to obtain a new PAL. The admission process has not changed at all.
How will a student get their PAL?
The PAL process is simple and efficient
Once the student submits the application, they will receive a Letter of Acceptance if they are accepted into the institution
- Then, the student accepts the offer and informs the institution or fills out the request form
- Post that the institution informs the province, and PAL is released to the institution to be shared with the student.
- Issuing of PAL is the responsibility of the institution & the province. Hence, it is crucial for students to be agile and accept the offer as soon as possible.
So, what does it mean for new international students?
The educational institutes are prepared to welcome international students and support them with quality infrastructure. Their admission procedures are streamlined and more efficient than in the past. They also now have clarity on the number of seats they have. Due to this preparedness, students will get better access to the facilities, be it libraries, laboratories, faculty’s time, healthcare, housing, etc. Now, In all likelihood, there will be an appropriate number of students as per the requirements of the job sector of each province, and hence, the new students are likely to find it easier to get part-time and full-time jobs.
The housing situation is improving rapidly:
The government took the housing issue very seriously. To address this, they gave educational institutions clear guidelines to help students with their accommodation needs. Over the next few months, it is likely that students will find it easier to get good accommodation choices. In fact, some positive student feedback has already started to come from Canada with reference to housing. However, it is advisable that students prepare for their housing in advance before reaching Canada to avoid a last-minute rush.
Better employment opportunities:
Students will have enough opportunities to get part-time and full-time employment, both on and outside the campus. The fierce competition among students in the job market will ease up going forward due to the reduced inflow of new students and immigrants. The focus on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) and certain other programs for various provinces is also to ensure that students take the programs that are in high-demand sectors to secure a successful career ahead.
Each province in Canada is committed to offering equitable job opportunities based on the available job market, particularly in high-demand fields such as STEM, Hospitality, Healthcare, Trades, Transportation, Childcare or ECE- Early Childcare and Education, and Data Science.
Applying early would be advantageous:
As the number of study permit applications have been capped, hence the earlier a student secures his or her offer and applies for the study permit, the better are the chances to get ahead in the queue. For students applying late, there could be a risk that by the time they apply for a study permit, the Cap limit has already been hit and their study permit application is not accepted. So, the earlier one starts the process, the better the chances.
Conclusion:
The time to worry about problems related to student experience in Canada is over! The Canadian government has duly addressed most of the issues faced by students in the past by making a few adjustments to the policy, which will allow genuine international students to avail themselves of world-class education and facilities. Canada is now fully geared up to welcome international students with open arms. Hence, it is an excellent time for students to flourish by going to Canada and making their dreams come true. Hurry! Apply as soon as possible to ensure that you secure your seat before institutions run out of PALs!
Source: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/nri/study/should-you-still-consider-canada-for-studying-abroad/articleshow/109833699.cms
