Chandigarh: The growing tensions between India and Canada have raised concerns among parents about the hefty investments in their children’s education in Canada. Analysis revealed this investment as an outflow of a staggering Rs 68,000 crore each year from Punjab, Khalsa Vox reported on Saturday.

According to the Khalsa Vox, last year total 226,450 visas were approved by Canada under the Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), and a significant portion, approximately 1.36 lakh students, hailed from Punjab. These students are pursuing various courses with an average duration of two to three years.

The current data from student visa processing agencies suggest that around 3.4 lakh Punjabi students are currently studying in various educational institutions across Canada.

As per the Khalsa Vox, the Chairman of the Association of Consultants for Overseas Studies, Kamal Bhumla said, “Based on the figures available to us, nearly 60 per cent of Indians migrating to Canada are Punjabi, accounting for an estimated 1.36 lakh students who went last year. On average, each student pays approximately 17,000 Canadian dollars in annual fees, in addition to depositing 10,200 Canadian dollars as Guaranteed Investment Certificate (GIC) funds.”

He informed that only 38,000 Punjabis were applying for Canada each year until 2008 but the numbers are now booming at multiple folds pace.

A senior official from a prominent forex company in Jalandhar added, “We often observe that the average expenditure incurred by Punjabi parents to send their children to Canada on a student visa amounts to approximately Rs 20 lakh per year. Extrapolating from this data, it is safe to estimate that there are at least 3.4 lakh Punjabi students in Canada, collectively contributing Rs 68,000 crore annually to the Land of the Maple Leaf.”

The Khalsa Vox publication reported that the surge of Punjabi students on Canadian campuses is a noteworthy trend, with nearly 60 per cent of all Indian students moving to Canada being of Punjabi origin.

Approximately 1.36 lakh Punjabi students made the journey to Canada last year, with each student paying an average annual fee of amount 17,000 Canadian dollars as stated by the Chairman of the Association of Consultants for Overseas Studies, Kamal Bhumla.