A businessman behind a Canadian college network facing failed inspections and student refund orders also runs a student recruitment company in India, placing him on both sides of an industry that promises students a better future abroad.
Gurinder Bhatti, co-founder of Opulence Education Group, the umbrella company that owns the three Academy of Learning campuses that lost OSAP eligibility following inspections, also directs Express Student Services, a study-abroad consultancy in Punjab, India.
Evidence emerged this week suggesting that some Academy of Learning students couldn’t name the school program they were enrolled in, while third parties were hired to complete student coursework, among other irregularities.
About 14,800 students at the three Academy of Learning campuses received more than $219 million in Ontario Student Assistance Program grants in 2024–25, while the total amount spent on OSAP for all students was $385 million, according to government data.
That means that three Academy of Learning colleges received a whopping 57 per cent of the OSAP pie.
As mentioned, one of Opulence’s co-founders, Gurinder Bhatti, promotes a luxury lifestyle while holding conflicting business interests on both sides of the international student industry. While Opulence owns career colleges in Canada, Bhatti is also the director of Express Student Services — a “study abroad consultancy” in Punjab, India.
Bhatti and Express Student Services attracted the attention of Indian authorities back in 2013, when police raided six student immigration agencies in Punjab, including his own, over allegations of forged financial documents and student certificates used in overseas visa applications.
The allegations against Express Student Education Services were eventually dropped as the prosecution ended in acquittal, and the company now continues to recruit students in India.
Since then, Opulence Education Group has been buying up private career colleges in Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta, and Quebec — but the company’s corporate registration documents say Bhatti was, until very recently, reportedly living abroad.
In Canada, corporate filings listed Gurinder Bhatti of Opulence Education Group as not being a “resident Canadian” between 2018 and September 9, 2026, when new corporate documents were filed listing Bhatti, now sole director, as a “resident Canadian” for the first time.
Canadian corporate law states that a corporation with fewer than four directors must have at least one resident Canadian director. A sole director must therefore meet that requirement.
Juno News called the phone number Bhatti listed in his September 9 filings to ask about his change of residency.
A person with a thick Indian accent answered the phone but said the number did not belong to Gurinder Bhatti. They declined to identify themselves or provide Bhatti’s contact information before abruptly ending the call.
Juno News also reached out to Opulence, which did not respond to our requests for comment.
Another Opulence Education Group-owned college in Vancouver has also faced inspection irregularities.
An inspection of Granville College in Vancouver included a dozen student files and found deficiencies in their contracts and work placement records.
Student contracts were either incomplete or improperly signed, while inspectors identified differences between the stated delivery method recorded in contracts and how instruction was provided, along with incorrect refund calculations.
Granville College’s Vancouver and Surrey campuses are designated under Student Aid BC, allowing eligible students in approved programs to apply for government financial assistance.
While some elements of the inspection were met, the files contained deficient weekly attendance records, and student placement evaluation paperwork also failed to pass inspection.
The college also suffered from a high dropout rate. In total, 24 per cent of their hospitality programme students withdrew, while less than 1 percent graduated. In the supply chain program, a whopping 72 per cent left or failed to graduate.
Granville College, Vancouver, was ultimately fined and asked to properly issue refunds. In Ontario, Academy of Learning has disputed most of the allegations made against them, prompting a court challenge to get their OSAP eligibility back.
Where business owners control international student recruitment firms and the colleges receiving those recruits, they stand to benefit from both sides of the transaction.
Canadians need to know what safeguards ensure that students are being recruited legitimately.
WHY are non-residents or temporary residents getting OSAP grants? That's utterly ridiculous!!
If it’s a government run program you can bet there are no safeguards. East Indians have infiltrated every level of government and know the loopholes better than anyone. Their sheer numbers have overwhelmed any rational attempt to expect assimilation to traditional Canadian values. With control of ports of entry they decide what or who gets in or out. It’s not a surprise that this pipeline brought in students in name only without even attending classes or graduating. In Kitchener, Ontario a local community college faced the same accusations and the president “retired” rather than answering any questions about corruption. Typical government response,
Bury, burn, or hide the evidence all while denying it happened.