Instructors’ strike in Ontario colleges hits foreign students

Avneet Kaur

Jalandhar, November 18

A strike by instructors of 24 colleges across Ontario (Canada) has severely impacted over 3 lakh international students academically and financially.

They said they would not be unable to pursue studies till the strike by instructors under the banner of Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) is called off. The strike has been underway since October 16.

The students fear that if the semester is condensed or extended, it could result in delayed graduation, additional financial requirements and visa-related issues.

A student of Centennial College, Surbhi Sareen, who hails from Jalandhar, said, “I won’t be able to take up my public relations course in January if I can’t finish my human resource management semester II classes by December 22.”

Another student from Punjab, Gifty, said, “Our money and time is at stake, in case the semester gets extended for another four months. In Canada, where jobs are temporary, it would become more difficult for us to manage expenses. We just hope this strike ends soon. The students who were doing campus jobs are suffering more.”

Students are demanding a tuition fee refund for each day missed due to the strike. Through a post on social media sites #wepaytolearn, students are being asked to sign a petition for reimbursement for each day lost.

“On an average, for tuition fee of $5,000 for two 13-week semesters, we are paying $40 per day to be in school. We demand that every full-time student must be reimbursed $30/day and part-time students must be reimbursed $20/day to manage expenses,” said another student, Jasleen Kaur.

Surbhi said, “Over 12,000 part-time and contract-based instructors, who teach for seven to 12 hours a week, are on strike. They want that at least 50 per cent of teachers should be full-time or permanent ones, besides a hike in their wages.”