A buyer may have been found for three Québec private colleges that filed for creditor protection – leaving hundreds of international students from India in the lurch.
Richter Inc., an accounting firm that is overseeing the restructuring, said that the schools could reopen if the purchase deal is approved by the courts. In a court filing in February, Richter said it hoped that students who had almost completed their courses would be able to graduate by June 30.
However, it’s unclear whether students still in India will see part or all of their tuition deposits refunded. As well, it’s not known if international students in Canada will need to pay more fees in order to complete their courses.
The creditor protection process could take several months, the law firm representing the students said in a court filing on February 21. “While we understand the very difficult position that students are in, refunds in cash cannot be paid for now,” wrote Alain Tardif of McCarthy Tetrault LLP.
On February 28, David Collier, the superior court justice handling the file, extended creditor protection until April 29. According to the application, tuition fees and refund requests are estimated to be up to $11 million.
On the weekend, a group calling itself the Montreal Youth Student Organisation demonstrated in downtown Montreal to garner support for the students’ plight. The PIE News requested comment from the protesters but did not receive a response.
Earlier protests have also been held across the country.
The three Quebec colleges entered creditor protection just weeks after demanding that students pay their tuition in advance. The institutions are: M College in Montreal, CDE College in Sherbrooke and CCSQ, which has campuses in Longueuil and Sherbrooke.
Students from India represent 95% of the 1,117 students at the three colleges. A further 900 students sent tuition deposits from India and never had a chance to enrol in classes in Canada.
Rising Phoenix International, an associated recruiting firm based in Montreal, also asked for creditor protection in a court filing on January 7.
“The third priority is to get the maximum we can get to refund as quickly as possible”
Tardif told CBC News that the top priority would be helping students who were near graduation to complete their studies. The second group of concern are students who were about to start their program, or had recently begun classes.
“The third priority is to get the maximum we can get to refund as quickly as possible, the fees that were paid by the students who won’t be coming to Canada,” Tardif said.
