There’s no question that moving to a foreign country, with a different language and different customs prevail, is a stressing enterprise. It’s more stressful when you’re expected to produce a result to a fixed time table. Arab News reports that this stress is resulting in more divorces among Saudi students studying abroad. The numbers (the story reports eight divorces) is fairly small, but the problem isn’t. It’s not just students who need preparation and orientation for studying abroad, but their families as well, something the Saudi government may wish to address.

Divorce rates on the rise among students abroad
Najah Alosaimi | Arab News

RIYADH: 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.
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