Study Overseas: Part 3 | Punjab students ‘graduate’ from university of hard knocks

Harmanpreet  works 20 hours a week off-campus which is legally allowed for students. During the five-day week, she works on-campus for 12 hours as an “advancement project assistant’ as she made a schedule for this work around her classes. And for the remaining 8 hours (to complete her 20 hours in a week), she works in the hotel industry during weekends for 6-7 hours as a breakfast attendant.

“It’s been a year in Canada, and I am happy and doing things by striking a balance between my studies and work,” Harmanpreet says, adding that arranging for even one semester fee is difficult in Nova Scotia as students get the base rate $13.50 and tax is 15%, and this barely helps students with the daily expenses.

Harmanpreet  shares accommodation with two of her friends. She says for a student like her who comes from a middle class family, having an independent accommodation is not possible.

“For my summer semester I could arrange the fee which is $6,000. Also, this fee is paid in two parts – Summer Course 1 and Summer Course 2 – because I have my Guranteed Investment Certificate (GIC), so I was allowed to work full time. But for my next semester, the fee for which is $7,000-$8000, I will require my parents’ help to pay a part of it,” Harmanpreet says, adding that most students here have to go through this phase as they can work full time only after completing their course.

“Students here miss their families a lot, but they talk to their parents over phone daily. I would like to say that parents sacrifice a lot to send their children abroad, so it is each child’s responsibility to honour their trust and to make good life decisions,” says Harmanpreet whose parents work in Punjab government departments.

“The most important lesson that I have learned here is to keep good company. The group of friends you choose to be with or the people with whom you share your home matter a lot as they become your new family. Your behaviour and decisions are influenced by them in a lot of ways. Another important thing is that students should not run after money at the cost of study. I believe one should follow the middle path, that is, one should make money as well as focus on study. This led me to find an on-campus job at my university and helped me gain experience relevant to my field of study. And this was an idea given to me by my roommate,” says Harmanpreet .

Like Harmanpreet , several students had migrated to Canada in their teens where homesickness goes hand in hand with a sense of responsibility. And there is no option but to manage both well. But it’s a difficult balancing act.

Nainvish – another girl student from Kapurthala, studying at Mount Saint University in Halifax – says that Indian population is quite less here, but “luckily I had some distant relatives there who helped me in my first two months in Canada by providing me accommodation and then helping me find a room”.

Nainvish, who is from a business class family, shares a room with one more girl student from India. Her father is into agriculture-related business, while her mother is a school teacher. “Even after our parents helped us by paying two semesters’ fee, we still need their help for the remaining semesters despite our earnings here,” Nainvish says, adding that life as a student in Canada is not easy as “one has to study, find good work and earn so as to reduce the burden on parents. But, yes, there are a lot of avenues after completing studies”.

Mansha, another girl student from Bathinda, is also studying in the same university and comes from a business family. She also works there to meet some expenses of her semester fee as well as board and lodging.

In their university, there are students from all over the world, not just from India or Punjab.

Amritpreet Singh (name changed), 21, another student from Hoshiarpur at Alpha College in Toronto, says that he has been in Canada for the last two years. He will complete his degree in business administration next year. He too is trying to strike a balance between his classes and work.

“As a student, we have to focus not only on our studies but also on several other things like arranging the next semester fee and dealing with homesickness. One of my classmates from India could not cope with the pressure and life in Canada, and he went into depression,” Amritpreet Singh says, adding that “one should come fully prepared to face any challenges here. I work three hours daily after attending my classes, and during weekends I work 6-7 hours and use the earnings for my fee and daily expenses”.

“We are five boys who are sharing a two-room house as it is not easy to afford an individual accommodation as a student here,” Amritpreet Singh says, adding that “my father is running a good business in Hoshiarpur but still the education is quite expensive in Canada. I have taken Rs 10 lakh education loan and the rest of the amount is arranged by my father. I am also chipping in with my mite”.

Arvindpal Singh, a technology student in Toronto college, says, “I have some close friends who came here with some unrealistic dreams. They remained in their fantasy world for some time, but soon the student life in Canada gave them a reality check.” A couple of them had a tough time facing the reality, “but we somehow managed to knock some sense into them without informing their parents back home”, he adds.

A large number of Indian students, especially from Punjab, come to Toronto for several reasons. Firstly, there are a large number of Punjabis settled here; secondly, colleges too offer diverse courses here; and last but not the least, there is no dearth of jobs in Toronto.

“I have seen some good students falling in bad company and ruining their careers by becoming drug addicts and leaving their courses midway,” says Raman Preet Kaur, another student from Moga. But then there are hundreds of examples where students have made it big after completing their courses here, Raman Preet Kaur adds.

“More than 2 lakh students from India are going to Canada every year, of which a few fall in bad company or suffer from depression,” a Jalandhar-based travel agent says, adding that some even commit suicide as they can’t cope with the academic and work pressure together.

“We advise the students to carefully choose their course and college in Canada, which has many good colleges, though some dubious ones are also there,” consultant Gurpreet Singh says, adding that some people in this “study abroad” business misguide the students and so the students should check the credentials before applying to any college.

“There is a category of students who don’t want to study, but somehow they want to reach Canada and work and earn money. Some dubious colleges prefer such students,” says another consultant.