Agents offer ‘big dreams and promises’ but provide a nightmare for many international students

Dupinder Singh moved to Canada in 2018 with dreams of obtaining a postgraduate diploma.

But his Canadian college experience turned sour when, after deciding to transfer schools, he was asked to pay thousands of dollars for transcripts. To make matters worse, the education agent in India that he had paid for help stopped taking his calls.

Singh is among the 25 per cent of international students studying in Canada who are estimated to have used agents to help navigate Canada’s education system. Students from India are most likely to have paid large fees for agents, but there is little accountability, often leading to exploitation and disappointment.

When Singh arrived at the Pacific Link College campus in a Surrey, he was taken aback.

“There were just three or four rooms and a reception, basically more of a business setup and not an education setup.”