On September 11, 2022, CBC News published an Oped through which the publication tried to insinuate why more and more Indian students were landing on Canadian shores. The Oped is laughable at best and lacks data to support its claims.
This article has been written by one Sarbmeet Singh and Akshay Kulkarni, both of whom are Indian immigrants to Canada. But I won’t go for an ad-hominin attack, I would let facts do the talking.
The article suggests that Indian Students migrate to Canada because of 2 reasons:
- Unstable Political Environment in India
- Lack of Job opportunities
One Karan Singh has migrated to Canada because he fears for personal safety in Haryana.
That’s all that the article has to say, so Atha #AtulUvaach:
Indian students have been migrating overseas for education and employment for last many decades. Canada is a relatively new phenomenon, Indian students have been moving to the US, the UK, Australia, Singapore, Ukraine and even China.
For the sake of simplicity, let us categorize students into 6 sub-groups:
- Good students, poor parents (GSPP)
- Average students, poor parents (ASPP)
- Good Students, Middle-Class Parents (GSMP)
- Average Students, Middle-Class Parents (ASMP)
- Good Students, Rich Parents (GSRP)
- Average Students, Rich Parents (ASRP)
ASPPs study in Tier-2/3 Indian universities, and sometimes they are joined by ASMPs too. ASMPs mostly study in Tier-2 Indian Universities. GSPPs, GSMPs and GSRPs generally crack prestigious entrance exams in India. These are the ones you find in Tier-1 Universities like the IITs and IIMs.
That leaves us with ASRPs. These are the typical spoilt brats, who have a lethargic outlook towards life. They struggle all through their school life but have the shiniest laptops. These are the ones to catch the first plane overseas the moment they are done with their 12th exams. But to which country?
These guys don’t go to the US and the UK. Not even Singapore. Or Australia. The US and UK have some of the best universities in the world. So, colleges like MIT, Cambridge, Stanford, Oxford, Harvard, Cal Tech, Imperial etc. won’t allow ASRPs. Simply because ASRPs won’t be able to crack the entrance exams. That said ASRPs can still join first copies of good colleges. For instance, London School of Economics is a grade-A college. But there are schools in London (and its suburbs) that have names like London School of Economics and Business, London School of Business and Finance, and London Economics School. You know the Adidas-Abidas thingy! But ASRPs wouldn’t settle for a first copy. Singapore and Australia are relatively easier but still mission impossible for ASRPs.
So only option these ASRP have left is to study in China or Ukraine or Canada. China has a college of Dentistry in every street of its megacities. Anyone can become a dentist in China. One of my childhood buddies (an ASRP) runs a Levi’s Showroom in Patna. He is doing quite well for himself, but he is a dentist from China. Ukraine offers medical colleges at 30% the price and 0% the brains. It’s another thing that Ukraine-return-doctors almost never clear IMA exams and hence are not considered doctors in India. So, they are forced to stay abroad.
Read More: Good news! Ukraine-return medical students will not be a burden on Indian universities
China and Ukraine used to be the top favourite of ASRPs until the opportunity presented them with Canada. Canada is at least 3 times more expensive than China and Ukraine but ASRPs are loaded. So, in the last twenty years, we have exported only Khalistanis, Cab Drivers and ASRPs to Canada. The China and Ukraine space is now dominated by ASMPs.
Canada offers a wide range of subjects to choose from – Law, Engineering, Medicine, Management etc. It is pretty easy to get into a Canadian varsity except for the good ones like McGill, or the University of Toronto. So ASRPs typically study in colleges in Canada which exist for the sole purpose of earning money.
And the question of British Colombia is pretty easy to understand. British Colombia is a ghetto-infested province in Canada. It has more migrants per square foot and more colleges per square mile than any Canadian province. Ontario is a close second. Therefore, it is no mere coincidence that most Indian students who move to Canada for studies end up in BC or Ontario. Staying with fellow ASRPs is a huge plus.
I can say that there is an ‘Unstable Political Environment in France’ which will be a random brain-fart unless proved with data and facts. The CBC Oped has nothing to corroborate this sweeping lie. Lack of job opportunities is a valid point but which country has an abundance of it? Take the US for example, people in the Obama era were crying about lack of job opportunities, people during Trump’s rule were crying about lack of Job Opportunities and people are crying about the lack of job opportunities even during the current Biden era. Poverty, Security, Jobs and Inflation (bringing it down) are the four horsemen of any political campaign. If anything, India has added more jobs in the last 8 years than in the previous 25 years (Check EPF registration data for clarification).
And why is an immigrant from rural Haryana concerned about his safety? Is he hiding something? Maybe Mr Karan Singh should be probed during his next visit home.
Summing it up, CBC editorial board decided to author an anti-India piece after India trumped UK in the economy game. They picked two random ASRPs and made them write a droning piece in simple school-level English. The parents of these ASRPs must talk to their kids and ask them to focus on studies and stay away from drugs. That will be a sane thing to do.