Sprott Shaw College offering free tuition to 13 refugees

Sprott Shaw College is offering refugees who settle inB.C. 13 scholarships to equip them for careers in their new home country.

The scholarships include all tuition, books and student fees for any of the private college's programs that the college and the refugee believe would be a good fit.

"When we saw the impact and the suffering and the journey that's been happening across Europe and the Middle East," Patrick Dang, the school's president told On The Coast host Stephen Quinn,"We knew that the time would come where we would have to take a stand and do something."

Sprott Shaw is a vocational college, the biggest in Western Canada. Deng says the school is all about training students for new specialized careers, so students won't be in school as long as public colleges and universities.

• Refugees In B.C.
• Syrian refugees: only 400 arriving this year in B.C.
• Syrian refugee plan an opportunity to rethink national housing strategy
• Refugees in B.C.: Coming to Vancouver will be tough, immigration lawyer says

The school mostly offers programs in business administration, health and community support, tourism and trades.

Dang says the school will be looking for refugees with "immediate needs" for the scholarships, in particular those with large families who need a breadwinner to support them, as well as refugees who are "ready to go," and don't need as much help with English and other skills upgrading.

Roselyn Mohammed is a refugee from Togo who is currently a studying nursing at the college.

She spent 20 years in a refugee camp in Ghana before being resettled in Canada and says that "without education, life is very difficult."

"I see that it's necessary, no matter my age, to go to school, for me to be educated, to help my children have a better life, help my family have a better life, and also help people around me who are in need" she said.

To hear the full interview, click the audio labelled:13 refugees to get free tuition at Sprott Shaw College