About 280 Saudi students at UBC in limbo, waiting for info

The University of British Columbia is doing everything it can to support Saudi Arabian students ordered to leave over a dispute between Canada and Saudi Arabia, says UBC president Santa Ono.

In a statement Wednesday, Ono said UBC has about 280 new and returning students with Saudi Arabian citizenship in Englishlanguage, undergraduate, postgraduate, and graduate programs. Of that number, about 80 per cent are sponsored by the Saudi Arabian Cultural Bureau.

“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, and 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,” he said.

He said students in need of support are encouraged to contact an international student adviser via email at isa@students.ubc.ca or by calling 604-822-5021.

“I appreciate this is a time of stress and uncertainty for UBC’s Saudi Arabian student population and I want to reassure them that we are doing all we can to provide required supports during this evolving scenario,” he added.

Ono said he hopes the dispute can be resolved so the students can continue their studies at UBC.

UBC’s faculty of medicine is focusing on ensuring its Saudi Arabian post-doctorate medical trainees and their families are supported, said Roger Wong, executive associate dean for education at the faculty. The faculty is preparing for the potential withdrawal of 20 residents and 24 clinical fellows.

Universities across Canada are scrambling to get information about what will happen to the students after Saudi Arabia suspended scholarships to Canada and planned to relocate its students already in the country. The move affects more than 15,000 students attending university in Canada.

Saudi Arabia announced Sunday it was suspending future trade with Canada and severing diplomatic ties following a tweet issued by Global Affairs Canada decrying the arrest and detention of two female bloggers and activists.