By Chad Klassen

Few TRU students to be impacted by Saudi’s decision to pull scholarships, funding

Aug 7, 2018 | 6:04 PM

KAMLOOPS — A day after news the Saudi Arabia government announced it plans to withdraw funding for its students studying in Canada, the impact is being felt for about 30 Saudi students at Thompson Rivers University. 

They are in the middle of a war of words between their government and Canada, which has challenged the Saudi kingdom to released human-rights activists who have been imprisoned. 

“From the students’ perspective, it is very tough,” says Associate Vice-President of TRU World Baihua Chadwick. “They’ve spent all that time, hoping to obtain an education. Whether it’s halfway or even if it’s nearing the end, if they can’t complete it, is a major impact on them.”

The war of words ignited in part by a tweet sent out on Friday by Global Affairs Canada, encouraging the release of human-rights activists. 

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According to TRU, there were 29 Saudi students enrolled in the winter semester (Jan. to Apr.). There are currently 23 students on campus in the summer, but only 10 are signed up to take classes at TRU in the fall. 

The university is now reaching out to the current Saudi students to help as they transition out of Canadian universities. 

“Should they need assistance in obtaining their transcripts, for example, or whatever preparation they need before they leave or whatever we can do to minimize the impact on them,” notes Chadwick. 

As upsetting as the situation is for everyone involved, TRU World says it prepares for situations like this where global politics interfere with the student experience. 

“This is almost the nature of the beast,” Chadwick says, noting it’s not the first time this will happen and won’t be the last. “We anticipate unforeseeable events like this, whether it’s political, or medical even, or economical or wars or anything like that. They can impact the outcome of our recruitment. That’s just the nature of international recruitment.”