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Saudi Arabia: Divorce rates on the rise among students abroad
23-11-2008
By Najah Alosaimi
RIYADH, (Arab News):
The number of divorces among Saudi students on scholarships abroad is increasing, according to the Ministry of Higher Education.
“Approximately eight Saudi couples divorced overseas last year,” said Abdullah Al-Musa, deputy minister for scholarships affairs, while speaking at an assembly of scholarship students in Riyadh.
Al-Musa, who was addressing 1,267 students of both genders planning to travel to the US, Australia, Europe and Asia next year, urged student couples to work hard and support each other.
The deputy minister attributed marriage breakdowns to several causes, including stress. “Most marital disputes that occur between student couples are due to an inability to adapt to a new way of life and cope with a totally alien culture in a foreign country. There is also the pressures that come from studying, especially at the postgraduate level, which requires a lot of research and hard work,” he said.
He added that many students feel foreign scholarships are an opportunity to travel abroad as tourists, adding that this perception soon changes once they see the responsibilities that lie in wait for them.
“Saudi cultural attachés in countries where students travel strive to provide help in matters of education and other issues. But we can’t appoint counselors to help couples who are unable to handle their marriage problems,” he said. “Such people should stay at home and not apply for scholarships,” he added.
Thousands of students travel abroad on scholarships each year. Students, some of whom are from rural communities, find it challenging to live abroad and cope with cultural differences and the liberties offered by Western countries.
The Ministry of Higher Education holds a series of preparatory courses and educative symposiums for students each year. The assembly, which is in its fourth year, included lectures by foreign diplomats and education officers who spoke about life in their home countries. A similar assembly began in Jeddah yesterday.
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1§ion=0&article=116603&d=23&m=11&y=20
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