The smell of South Asian spices wafts from the “Blends and Curries” food counter.
Conversations in Hindi and Gujurati fill the bustling hallways, which quickly fill up as students enter and leave classes.
Groups of young Indians, who seem to make up the majority of the student population, make the most of the common areas to study, rest or wait for classes to start.
Everywhere you look at Conestoga College’s main campus, there is plenty of evidence of an explosion of international students.
The school has become an example of aggressive recruitment of international students.
Their efforts have generated a flood of new money (a stark contrast to the financial pressures students themselves face), but they have also raised questions within the institution about the sustainability of that growth and the motivations behind it.
And as the federal government seeks to stem the flow of international students with a two-year limit on study permits, even the Immigration Minister has singled out the university.
The southwestern Ontario university had 37,000 study permits approved and extended in 2023, the most in Canada, marking a 31 per cent increase from the previous year.
Its student population has more than doubled in four years to around 45,000, and international students now vastly outnumber domestic students. The main campus in Kitchener, Ontario alone now houses more than 20,000 students.
Conestoga is a mecca for foreign students. Is her rise to wealth leading him off a cliff? #InternationalStudents #CDNPoli #ConestogaCollege
Teachers and students seem to agree that things have gone too far.
“No organization can grow at that rate and do well that quickly,” said Leopold Koff, a union leader representing Conestoga teachers, counselors and librarians.
Faculty members have become nomads without fixed desks, a change the union says was sparked by the university’s desire to build more classrooms to accommodate a larger student population. The university says the change reflects a post-pandemic hybrid work model.
At the student union office, more than a hundred students come and go in an hour for a free snack, one of many programs Conestoga Students Inc. offers to help a growing number of students who are food insecure.
Teachers complain that many students lack critical skills, which in turn makes their jobs more difficult, Koff said.
“They don’t have the three basic R’s: reading, writing and arithmetic,” he said.
To make matters worse, Koff said students have been too busy working to focus on their studies. He highlighted Ottawa’s decision during the pandemic to temporarily allow international students to work more than 20 hours a week.
“This is causing a huge catastrophe for students,” he said. “They will take advantage of that… They need the money.”
Vikki Poirier, another union leader who represents support staff, admitted that the university has hired more people to keep up with the school’s growth.
But he said new employees need time to get up to speed, and in the meantime, staff face massive workloads as they process more students.
Both union leaders said they have expressed their concerns to the school administration, but they do not feel heard.
“Our perception of the university administration these days… is that it’s a river of money. And if you get in the way of that river of money, they’ll wipe you out,” Koff said.
Conestoga’s finances have been generously supported by international student tuition rates, which can sometimes be three times higher than those of Canadian students.
Financial statements show the public university had a surplus of $106 million for the 2022-23 year. That’s up from just $2.5 million in 2014-2015.
Conestoga declined a request to interview its administration.
In a statement, the university defended its hiring levels.
“Colleges and universities across the country have been welcoming international students as part of their financial viability strategy given the stagnation of public funding in recent years,” the statement said.
“Students coming to Conestoga from other countries have allowed us to reinvest our surplus into new buildings and in-demand programs, both of which drive economic growth. Domestic and international students now enjoy the best facilities funded by the surplus.”
Conestoga also highlighted the contribution its students make to the regional economy and the role they play in filling labor shortages. He also defended his admissions standards, noting that his requirements are “similar to or superior to those of other universities.”
The individual stories of Conestoga’s international students suggest that many of them are struggling even as the university makes a fortune.
While some students are lucky that their parents can pay their tuition and living expenses, others must take out loans and rely on employment to pay their bills.
Bijith Powathu and Fredin Benny took out educational loans in India to pay for their first year’s tuition.
Now, they work full-time in a factory and a warehouse, respectively, to pay their second year’s dues.
Young people said balancing work and school means sleep often falls by the wayside.
When Powathu is scheduled for a night shift at his factory job in Mount Forest, Ont., he drives 85 kilometers directly to class in the morning.
“Straight from work I have to come here to work. Sometimes I have sleepless nights,” Powathu said.
Many Indian students describe how difficult it is to find work at home, where youth unemployment is through the roof. According to the Center for Indian Economy, the unemployment rate for 20-24 year olds in India was 44 percent between October and December 2023.
But it is also increasingly difficult to find work for young people in Canada.
Nelson Chukwuma, president of Conestoga Students Inc., said that’s the most important thing for students right now.
“Our students are having a hard time finding jobs,” he said.
Some Conestoga scholars attribute the shortage to the increase in students in the region.
“A couple of years ago, the situation was different. But now it has completely changed. Mainly in the labor market,” Powathu said, describing the plight of his unemployed peers.
“So based on that, they just want to come back (home).”
Several students with anxious faces described constantly handing out resumes since arriving in Canada last September, without success. They said they feel great guilt in depending on their parents for support.
Chukwuma used to be an international student and has seen the campus change over time, and that change has been dramatic over the past five years amid unprecedented growth.
“We don’t think it’s sustainable,” he said.
Although his organization has benefited financially from increased enrollment, Chukwuma said he is constantly playing catch-up when it comes to meeting student needs.
“I think the university definitely needs to re-evaluate its strategy because of the criticism we have received, not only from faculty (and) staff, but also from the community,” Chukwuma said.
He noted that local governments did not have the housing and transit infrastructure to accommodate the influx.
Conestoga said it invested in eight new properties last year to address housing needs.
Many at the university also blame a lack of long-term provincial funding, along with few federal limits on the international student population.
For decades, the cost-of-living financial requirement tied to student permits was $10,000, an amount that significantly underestimates the amount students spend on basic housing and food.
As part of a broader effort to control the number of temporary residents in Canada – a political responsibility for the Liberal government due to its impact on housing affordability – Immigration Minister Marc Miller has more than doubled the number to $20,635.
Miller also announced that work permits for spouses of international students would only be available to those in master’s or doctoral programs.
And in January, Miller announced that Canada would impose a two-year limit on study permits, reducing the number of new study visas by 35 percent.
At Conestoga, this will mean a massive reduction. The Ontario government has allocated only 15,000 permits from its national quota to the public university, less than half of what was approved the previous year.
While many international students have applauded the changes, the changes in goalposts are also sparking anger.
A 29-year-old Nigerian student said the change in spousal work visa means his wife and two daughters cannot join him in Canada as he had hoped.
“I’m very angry,” said the student, who did not want to be identified for fear of repercussions.
“You brought me here and told me I could bring them. Now I’m here and you tell me I can’t bring them.”
Another change in federal rules could have a significant impact on those who work full time.
Miller announced Monday that the temporary waiver of the work hour limit would expire as scheduled on Tuesday. In the fall, the federal government plans to implement a new 24-hour per week limit.
“To be clear, the purpose of the international student program is to study and not to work,” Miller said.
The Immigration Minister said the new limit reflects the fact that the overwhelming majority of international students work more than 20 hours a week. At the same time, it prevents students from prioritizing work over school, he said.
“We also know from studies that when you start working at or around 30-hour levels, there is a material impact on the quality of your studies,” Miller said.
For international students like Powathu and Benny, this will mean working around 16 hours less each week – a significant financial impact.
Before the announcement, Powathu and Benny said going back to 8pm would be unsustainable.
When asked if they would survive, they both said, “No.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 30, 2024.