Colleges bear the brunt

Lack of job opportunities is forcing students to migrate abroad, resulting in a decline in college admissions. The young minds prefer to shift base to Canada or Australia. PK Sharma, principal of Hindu College, Amritsar, says, “Overall, the admissions in colleges have gone down. Students want to study abroad due to better employment opportunities. The government is callous towards education system.” It’s a worrying trend as even brilliant students are opting to study abroad, adversely affecting the human resource of the country. “Intelligent students are willing to leave the country for a better life. This trend is dangerous,” said Khalsa College principal Dr Mehal Singh. 

Sundeep Dawar, director, EPA Global, an immigration company, said, “Students prefer Canada and Australia. I receive 200 applications in a month, out of which 50 get mature. Students have to be guided properly, otherwise they land in trouble. The craze for European countries is also rising.” —Divya Sharma

Migration Dynamics 

Plus Two passouts  from Una and Hamirpur are coming to us in large numbers to seek advice on immigration and take courses in IELTS. — Navneet Singh, immigration firm owner

Most young assistant professors hired by the college in the last few years have taken NOC from the college for applying for Permanent Residency in another country. — Gurpinder Singh Samra, Principal, Lyallpur Khalsa college, Jalandhar

Ever since the Canadian government changed its rule to make six bands compulsory in each module of IELTS, the number of students facing rejections has increased manifold. Many Punjabi students have not been able to clear the language tests even in eight attempts after having spent Rs 70-80,000 on the course and exam fee. — Sukant Nain Trivedi, Immigration expert

If Punjabi youth abroad were sending in an estimated Rs 90,000 crore annually back home till last year, there has been a drop of at least 15 per cent this year. It is not easy for the students to cope up with studies and work at the same time. — Anonymous, official, foreign exchange company

My son has done BBA from Canada and has now set up an immigration consultancy in Brampton. Once abroad, the students need advice on extension of student visa, work permit, etc. So, my son handles that bit now. — Kamal Bhumla, Chairman of the association of consultants for overseas studies