Read what Jaishankar says about students facing deportation in Canada
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar says on Thursday that Indian students in Canada facing deportation owing to fraudulent enrollment should not be punished for the actions of others.
According to Jaishankar, the students were admitted and studied at those colleges in good faith, and it is “unfair” to punish them.
As many as 700 Indian students, largely from Punjab, face deportation from Canada after authorities in the North American country discovered phoney “admission offer letters” to educational institutions. The matter came to light in March when these students requested permanent residency in Canada.
“For some time now, there has been this case of students who, according to the Canadians, did not study in the college where they should have, and when they applied for a work permit, they ran into problems,” Jaishankar explained.
“We have taken up this case from the beginning; our point is that the students studied in good faith.” If they were misled, the responsible parties should be held accountable.
Punishing a student who pursued their education in good faith is unjust. I believe Canadians recognise that it would be unfair if a student had done nothing wrong…” We will keep pressing,” he continued.
S Jaishankar was speaking at a news conference about the foreign policy of the Narendra Modi govt over the last nine years.
On Wednesday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated that his government’s priority was “identifying the culprits, not penalising the victims.” A House of Commons committee also voted in favour of former international students from India who face deportation.
“We are deeply aware of cases of international students facing removal orders due to fraudulent college acceptance letters,” Trudeau said in Parliament.
Our priority is to find the perpetrators, not to punish the victims.”
“Victims of fraud will be able to demonstrate their situation and present evidence to support their case,” he continued. As we analyse each situation, we are dedicated to assisting victims of fraud.”
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