College, UBCO could lose Saudi students

Irked by human rights criticism, Saudi government recalls its students attending Canadian institutions

Okanagan College stands to lose 30 returning and 35 new Saudi Arabian students if a dispute with Canada isn’t resolved.

“We are monitoring the situation, but we are very much bystanders,” said college president Jim Hamilton. “Our primary concern is with the welfare of our students.”

If none of the expected 65 students come, the college would lose an estimated $850,000 in revenue.

“Obviously, this is a huge issue for students involved, but if you want to know more, you’ll have to talk to the Canadian or Saudi governments,” Hamilton said.

After Ottawa expressed concern about the arrest of two women’s rights activists in Saudi Arabia last Friday, tensions between the two countries have been escalating.

The Canadian ambassador was expelled from Riyadh on Sunday, and the Saudi government has frozen all new trade.

On Monday, the Saudi government ordered the recall of a reported 16,000 Saudi students attending Canadian institutions.

Most of Okanagan College’s Saudi students are on scholarships from Riyadh.

UBC, meanwhile, has about 280 new and returning students from Saudi Arabia. Of these, about 20 go to the Kelowna campus.

“Understandably, many of our students have questions about how the current dispute between Canada and Saudi Arabia will affect them now and in the future,” said UBC president and vicechancellor Santa J. Ono in a statement released Wednesday. “We are working hard to help them manage with the limited information that is available, and to provide individual support as they consider the next steps for their studies.”