Answering to recent concerns over changes to Canada’s student visa program, Immigration Minister Jason Kenney this month asserted his belief that “credible” schools will still be able to recruit and sponsor foreign students.
In recent weeks Serge Buy of the National Association of Career Colleges expressed his uneasiness with the proposed changes, which will allow provinces to work with post-secondary institutions to provide the federal government with a list of “credible” schools for which international students are suited.
Buy says that the new rules run the risk of omitting credible career colleges because if provinces choose not to do the work, the federal government will have to decide on its own which institutions would be credible. The federal government has not been definitive in what criteria will be used.
For his government’s part, Kenney says there is no need to be concerned and that he is confident that “credible” career colleges will be recognized as such.
“[The provinces] know who are the sound institutions and I have every expectation that credible career colleges will be put on the list of certified institutions by provincial governments but there may be some self-styled career colleges that aren’t so credible and we’ll let the provinces make that decision,” said Kenney this month.
The rule changes are intended to streamline the student visa process and help eliminate fraud. Students must be enrolled in credible programs that are longer than six months in length and be regularly attending classes.
Source: www.canada.com