Students protest in Ludhiana as 3 Canadian colleges, agents yet to refund fee

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, April 8

A number of students, who were allegedly deceived by agents, have been running from pillar to post to get their education fees refunded from three Canadian colleges and the agents concerned for a long time. The students said their study visas were refused but their fees were never refunded as per the policy.

A group of such students staged a protest outside the IDP Education office at Feroze Gandhi Market, Ludhiana, on Friday, demanding their full fees be refunded at the earliest. They appealed to the Punjab Government to provide them justice by getting their fees refunded soon.

The suffering students said they were facing a lot of mental stress as their fees were not being refunded despite repeated demands. They said around Rs 9 lakh or even more as education fees was paid by each student to different colleges of Montreal in Canada. They alleged they had been deceived by the agents.

The protesting students said hundreds of students had applied for study visas in three colleges of Montreal in Canada in 2020. The students said their visa applications were earlier delayed amid the Covid-19 pandemic but later, their applications were refused.

One of the protesting students, Deepak, said: “Many agents had got a large number of students applied for admission in three colleges of Montreal as such agents were minting huge commission. These colleges were later banned by the government. The students who had deposited the education fees have failed to get refund till date after the study visa refusal. In case of the visa refusal, fees were supposed to be refunded within 45 days as per the policy. But we have been waiting for fees refund for the past nine months. That’s why we are being forced to stage protests to get our fees refunded. The agents deceived us. Our future is being ruined.”

The students said their parents had taken a study loan to send them abroad and it is even difficult to return loan instalments now. “Around two years passed since we applied for a study visa in 2020. There is a threat to our career as our study is getting affected. I had deposited around Rs 9 lakh fees for the admission in a college of Montreal. I and my parents are facing mental harassment as fees are not being refunded. I want full fees of all students should be refunded without any further delay. The Central and state governments should take steps to provide us justice”, said another student.

The students said they have met with a number of politicians and officials regarding the issue but to no avail. A student, Sukhwinder Singh, said: “The students are facing mental harassment. We demand from Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to take necessary steps so that we can get our fees back at the earliest.”

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