It’s been a month since Saudi Arabia informed King Abdul Aziz Scholarship students studying in Canada that they have one month to wrap up their post-secondary education and leave the country.
The move, which was the result of a diplomatic spat between Canada and Saudi Arabia, impacted roughly 40 Saudi students at Algoma University.
But Algoma University says that it’s hard to say exactly how many of those students have left, and how many have stayed behind.
University registrar David Marasco told SooToday following Friday’s senate meeting that he couldn’t give us concrete numbers, but offered to “speak anecdotally about the situation.”
“We’re trying to accommodate them as best we can,” Marasco said. “I think, personally, that we have that obligation.”
“For the most part a lot of them are staying, which is good,” he continued. “A lot of them are leaving this term, only because they somewhat panicked with the communique from the kingdom, saying that ‘you need to come home,’ that the scholarship won’t be paid if you continue studying in Canada.”
Marasco says that a number of Saudi students have approached him to find out what their options are at this point, and have made overtures that they would like to finish their studies at Algoma University.
But some of the Saudi student population at the university have already bailed, says Marasco - selling furniture, cars and giving up their leases in order to return to Saudi Arabia.
“We were advised that we couldn’t encourage them to forego the scholarship and pay for their own [education], we didn’t want to put ourselves in the middle of the dispute,” Marasco said. “The Saudi Arabian cultural bureau is suggesting that if you’re part of the scholarship, that you return home.”
When news of Saudi Arabia suspending scholarships across Canada first broke, Algoma University president Asima Vezina told SooToday that the impact of lost tuition revenue would be "significant."
“The King of Azuz scholarship was very lucrative,” Marasco said. “Not only did they pay the tuition - the international tuition - which was approximately 17 to 18 thousand dollars a year, but they also gave them a nice stipend per month.”
Although Algoma University hasn't made it clear just how many Saudi students have been lost to the scholarship suspension, the institution of higher learning is anticipating that some of them will return in the winter to complete their degrees.
Marasco says that several of the Saudi students have just one or two terms left to complete in order to graduate.
“They may come back in winter on a visa study permit and pay on their own,” Marasco said.
“I’m hopeful that the two governments come to some sort of an accord to rectify this, because it’s unfair to the students - not just Algoma students, it’s all over.”
When news first broke in August, it was estimated that more than 15,000 scholarships could be pulled from Saudi students across the country.