Dilraj Singh spent most of his high school years in India’s northern Punjab state dreaming of studying abroad in Canada, but he’s now abandoned that plan.
“Students are really suffering in Canada for getting jobs,” Singh said.
Singh, 21, said he’s also heard recent negative comments from friends living in Canada about the high cost of living and weak labour market in a country that accepts more Indians as international students than any other nationality.
“I do not know if that is a myth or a real thing,” he said. “But that’s why I don’t consider Canada as my top option now.”
He’s applying to go to Australia instead, where his older brother lives and where he might like to pursue a master’s in business administration.
A declining interest in Canada as a study destination for Indian students is a trend that’s intensifying, according to numerous Punjab-based study abroad consultancy …