Every year, thousands of teenagers around the world leave their homes and their families for the opportunity to study in the Canadian school system.

Many live in homestay arrangements, where they pay a Canadian family for room and board.

But there is growing concern that some of these students are being taken advantage of and aren't getting the care they need.

Alex Freedman has this report from Winnipeg.

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(sup students speaking in chinese)

They flock here from all over the world.

International students looking for a Manitoba Education.

Herbert Tsang came from Hong Kong in 20108to study at the University of Winnipeg Collegiate.

He says he was getting a small room, board, and transportation from a family friend Ronald Chong...

... so were 3 other high school students from China... all paying between 2500 and three thousand dollars a month.

Herbert Tsang

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"in breakfast, a peice of toast, a peice of bread with some jam on it. And sometimes maybe for a week like one or two times, you get ceral. "

for dinnner, he says, a small bowl of vegetables... and a bowl of rice. Meat and soup if he was lucky.

IN 2010 there were more than 18 thousand foreign students in canadian seconday schools or lower.

Many living in homestay arrangements.

Elizabeth Saewyc, in the nursing department at the University of British Columbia has studied the system and says it is ripe for abuse.

Elizabeth Saewyc

"I'm really concerned. Nobody is watching and some Kids can fallthrough the cracks."

Until a few months ago Chong had been an official representative of the U of W, recruiting foreign students.

Jeremy Read is the Senior Executive Officer to the President of the University of Winnipeg:

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In this instance, it seems that there may have been some misrepresentation there .

The University terminated his contract, and says it began the process of re-vamping its recruitment program about a year ago.

Ronald Chong has not returned any requests for information.

Alex Freedman, CBC news, Winnipeg.

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