2 B.C. private colleges accused of shortchanging international students through misleading tactics

When Sonali Sharma graduated from Grade 12 in her village in Haryana, India, her future seemed clear: coming to Canada as a student, getting a work permit, then getting her permanent residency. 

Sharma's father, a small-time farmer, mortgaged his farm and borrowed money from relatives to pay $11,000 in tuition fees.

But after starting the program and realizing she had been misled, Sharma decided to withdraw and ask for a refund. The college refused, leaving the 19-year-old without the money to seek admission in a new institution, putting her future in Canada in limbo. 

Her story is not unique, says Balraj Kahlon, the co-founder of One Voice Canada, a non-profit organization that helps vulnerable international students. 

Kahlon says many private colleges in B.C. use unethical business practices to refuse international students their refunds.

"When [the student] wants to leave and get their money back, the colleges just push back. They'll even be deceitful," said Kahlon. 

While there is a complaints process for students that may result in refunds, critics say there is a lack of government oversight for private colleges that, in their view, prey on international students eager to find a way in to Canada.

Sharma, whose real name is not being used by CBC News due to her precarious immigration status, says she had hoped to enroll in a publicly funded school, but the immigration consultant in India told her she wouldn't get in.

He directed her towards Granville College, a private institution in Vancouver she had never heard of before. 

Sharma enrolled in a hospitality management program at Granville but things started going sideways when the program began in September 2022. 

During her first class, when a student asked the teacher on how to write their assignments, Sharma said the teacher told the class to "Just Google it, yaar [buddy]."

Sharma also says the hour-long classes only lasted about 10 minutes. 

"I had no words to say at that time because I had so many fantasies about the studies, about the college," said Sharma.

Sharma says she was promised by Granville that after finishing two semesters, she would be able to transfer to Vancouver Community College, a public institution. But when she inquired with that college, Sharma says she was told that would not be the case.