The world has indeed become a Global Village. Physical boundaries now carry little significance. This was first propounded by Canadian Media Theorist, Marshal McLuhan. According to him, today’s world has become more interconnected due to new media technologies. This seems to be true as we can easily evidence ever-increasing mutual trade between countries at different levels. One side of this inter-connectivity across different nations is the increasing trend of studying abroad.

Pakistan is also not behind in following this trend. One can easily find the presence of Pakistanis in the universities across the USA, Europe, and Australia. According to a study, more than 10,000 Pakistani students get study visas to study abroad on an annual basis. Among others, Canada is an attractive option for Pakistani students to pursue education.

There are five main reasons which attract students from abroad to choose Canada for studies. Firstly, the country resides several universities which are internationally recognized for the highest standard of education they offer and state-of-the-art facilities. According to the QS World University Rankings 2020, University of Toronto secured 29^th position, McGill University secured 35^th, while University of British Colombia secured 51^st position. University of Alberta, University of Montreal, and McMaster University were also successful in being at top 150 universities around the globe. Secondly, the two major languages being spoken in Canada are English and French. This means students having a fair level of linguistic skills in English language can easily survive in Canada.

Furthermore, Canada is one of the most ethnically and linguistically diverse countries in the world. This can be gauged by the fact that over half of the population of Canada are non-native speakers of the English language. Canada also ensures decent and secure lifestyle to its residents. Last but not the least, Canadian universities focus a lot of research experiments. Making a long story short, all these factors make the whole educational experience for students full of innovation and forward thinking.

All these aspects of studying in Canada attract student from all over the globe. And Pakistan is no different. Pakistani students have been pursuing their education in Canada for a long ago. However, the process of getting approved to do so has never been as easy as it has become now due to the recent announcement from the Canadian Immigration Department, according to which Pakistani students have become eligible to apply through Student Direct Stream (SDS) Program. It is a program for international students to speed up the admission processing phase. Earlier, China, India, Philippines and Vietnam were included in this program.

As per estimation, the success ratio of SDS program as compare to the regular study permit program has been recorded as much higher. In order to become eligible, students first will have to receive acceptance from any recognized Canadian academic institution. Next, they will have to pay tuition fee for the first year. They will also have to purchase a Guaranteed Investment Certificate (GIC) worth CAD $10,000. The SDS program asks for minimum score of 6 bands in IELTS which I think is not a big deal to secure if you have been to a decent educational institution. Lastly, one will have to go through the medical examination. This is the whole and sole process of meeting with the eligibility requirements which one can do successfully without having hired any kind of consultant.

As it is said that there is no such thing as a free lunch, it’s not only the international students who are at the receiving end enjoying benefits of studying abroad, Canada have also been having best of both worlds. International students play a critical role in improving GDP, employment-rate and government revenue of Canada. Students all the over world pay tuition fees to Canadian universities which seems to be the best thing since sliced bread for the Canadian education sector. Furthermore, these students spend money for different purposes while residing in Canada such as accommodation, food, clothing, transportation, tourism etc. This poses very positive impact on the economy of Canada.

During their education, most of the students work part-time. This provides Canada with cheap labor-force. After being graduated, there is always a chance for the students to reside in Canada and serve the country at different sectors. This way, Canada acquires the services of the people who are not only well-educated but are all accustomed to the norms and regulation of the country.

The study conducted by Roslyn Kunin and Associates (RKA) for Global Affairs Canada reveals the economic impact of international students on the Canadian economy. The report reveals that international students contribute $15.5 billion to economic activities in Canada on an annual basis. The GDP contribution is reported as $10 billion. The report also shows that the overall annual spending international students translates to 168,860 jobs.

After giving this information, there is an honest word of advice for the government of Pakistan. As per the statistics, the average undergraduate and post-graduate tuition fees in Canada is around CAD $20,000 – $30,000 per year. There perhaps is nothing wrong in learning a lesson from these findings. The induction of international students in Pakistani universities seems to be a viable option for PTI government as well which has been burning midnight oil in finding ways to boost economy. For that matter, not only education sector should be at par with international standard but also the law and order situation carries the key in turning this dream into reality.