Sharp increase in Canadian study permits issued to Indian students

PHOTO

A sharp, 300 per cent jump was recorded in the number of study permits issued to Indian students by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).

This spike was registered between January and November 2021, as compared to 2020, according to a media report on Friday.

Canada issued study permits to over 120,000 Indian students in the first 11 months of 2021, against 30,000 in 2020.

Even the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), UK, recorded a 34 per cent increase in first-year, post-secondary student enrollments from India; it was over 53,000 in 2020-21 school year.

But the number of primary applicant student visas granted by Australia fell by 62 per cent (to 14,146 Indian students) between July 2021 and January 2022, as against 37,154 for the July 2020-June 2021 year, said the report.

Education consultants said that many students who wanted to go to Australia in 2020 and 2021 chose Canada, US and UK. This was because Australia's borders were shut due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Now, with the country extending post-study work visas, there could be a jump in the number of Indian students heading to Australia. Both, the UK and Australia have revised post-study work visa norms making them more student friendly.

The US continues to attract the largest number of Indian students; 167,000 Indian students who joined American universities in 2020-21, accounted for a fifth of overseas students to the country.