Cost of Living for Kuwait Students in Australia - Research Proposal Example

Cost of living for Kuwait students in Australia Name Institution Table of Content 1.Introduction 3 2.Students cost of living in Australia 4 3.Discussion 4 4.Methodology (Data of cost of living for Kuwait students in Australia) 5 5.How student can best organize their allowance 7 6.Conclusion 8 7.Recommendations 9 Bibliography 10 Cost of living for Kuwait students in Australia 1. Introduction Australia is one of the countries that offer a dynamic environment for research, learning, and innovation. Many foreign students prefer to study in A Australia due to its safe, modern, and multicultural democracy that is one of its fundamental development pillars. Over many the years, Kuwait and Australia have had a strong bilateral relationship, a good relationship that they share has attracted more Kuwait students to join different institutions of Study in Kuwait. Increasing number of Kuwaiti students favor Australia as a study destination. In the year 2003, approximately 1,700 students were admitted in Australian institutions (Australia, 2008). Due to the high number of Kuwaiti sponsored students coming to Australia, their government is forced to support them in the cost of living. With most of the institutions located in the cities (Sydney and Melbourne), Kuwaiti Students are forced to cope up with the high cost of living in these areas. Research shows that, the cost of living in Australia Varies with the region an individual resides at, though in Areas around Sidney, have higher rates due to the high demand of goods and services by residents. Ministry of higher education in Kuwait increased the monthly allowances of their sponsored students from $3000 to $3900; this was to address the problem of high cost of living for these students (Kuwait Country Brief, n.d). The paper aims to look at the standard of living for Kuwait Students and determine if the monthly allowance allocated to them is enough for their livelihood. 2. Students cost of living in Australia While studying in Australia, Students need to consider how much money they need to make them live a comfortable life. There are a lot of things that are considered in the process of knowing the conformability of a student’s living standard. These include: 3. Discussion Cost of Living Accommodation The cost of living in the country Australia varies with the region that the student resides at. The rural areas like in the northern and western Australian states will attract lower accommodation costs. On the other hand, an urbanized area like in Sidney where most Kuwait students resides has higher rates of living cost. On average, one bedroom apartment cost approximately $750 per month while if one is renting up to 3 bedrooms the cost could go as high as $ 2500. The estimations are based on the assumption that the students will be splitting the cost with their roommates because without that assumption the cost of living could be much higher for the individual students. Amenities These amenities are the essential requirements that Kuwaiti students will need for their stay during their study. These amenities include, gas and electricity $ 50-$100 per month; phone and internet $150-$200 a month; water/ trash/ sewer $50 a month; groceries average approximately $ 200 per month depending of the diet of an individual students (Australia, 2008). This is expected to go up due to scarcity of special Muslim indigenous food. There is the possibility that some students are made to pay particular house or local taxes depending on the landlord cover and what the tenant ought to cover. There are other commodities that are used by Kuwait students contributing to their general cost of living in Australia. These costs are based on individual personal transportation, entertainment, and even luxuries. These include: monthly transportation pass which will cost around $120; meals out costing up to $ 450 a month depending on how fancy the restaurant is the students go to (Deumert et al., 2005). 4. Methodology (Data of cost of living for Kuwait students in Australia) Basic weekly expenses in Australian Dollars Rent (more expensive for inner city) $650 - $750* Food (eating at home) $80 - $100 Bills (gas, electricity, etc.) $50 - $100 Transport (at student concession rates) $80 - $120 Other (entertainment, clothes etc.) $35+ Telephone / internet $150 - $200 TOTAL WEEKLY EXPENSES $1,045 - $1, 270 TOTAL MONTHLY EXPENSES $4,180 - $5,080 The data above shows the basic expense of Kuwaiti sponsored students, living in the cities of Sydney and Melbourne. These rates are could change depending on various factors from the student's preference and place of residence (Deumert et al., 2005). Kuwaiti sponsored students seem to have a high expenditure on their basic needs. There is a high possibility that on the expenses such as rent are likely to increase or decrease depending on how well the room is furnished and its quality. It has come out clear that the cost of living among Kuwaiti students is high due to their preference to study in the institutions which are nearing urban areas as compared to institutions in rural areas. Leisure is another sector which makes the cost of living among foreign students in Australia to rise. It is estimated that most of the Kuwaiti students spend an average of $70-$150 a week on entertainment (Australia, 2008). Accumulation of this spending per month is higher as compared to other basic needs like food expenses per month. Due to the fact that, back in Kuwait, these students are not exposed to leisure activities like clubbing; this makes these students to engaging more in these leisure activities. They end up in financial constraints since they did not plan well with the little cash they had. It is important to understand that the cost of living for Kuwaiti students in Australia, to some extent is determined by the lifestyle that each student live while they are in Australia. High cost for Kuwait Students The high cost of living for Kuwait students in Australia has proved difficult for these students to bear without an additional amount to match their expenses. The data given on the cost of living for Kuwaiti students in Australia is estimated at a lower price range. With the increased student allowances to $3900, cannot still help much for these students to cope up with the high cost of living in Australia. The difference between Kuwaiti student’s expenses and their allowances comes to a deficit of $280. This gives the impression that these students are struggling to make ends meet in this foreign country. Research shows that most of the foreign students are prone to exploitation due their ignorance in the cost of commodities in Australia cities (Deumert et al., 2005). A few Australian residents take the advantage on these foreign students and overcharge them on prices of goods which are cheaper to the locals. Kuwaiti students sponsored by the government are faced with financial difficulties due to the high cost of living within the city sphere. Cost of living in the urban areas such as Sidney is higher than living in rural areas. The increased allowances from the government cannot still match the basic needs of these students a month (Kuwait Country Brief, n.d). These students are forced to ask for financial assistance from their families back in Kuwait. For those students who are from the poor families, opt to do part time jobs to help them support themselves while in a foreign country. 5. How student can best organize their allowance There are several ways with which Kuwait students in Australia could organize their allowances to enable them cope up with the growing cost of living in Australia. Australia system of education is based on a four months active institutional learning followed by a break. With each student receiving $3900 a month, they need to live in partnership; this will require each student to have roommates rather than staying alone for the period of the four months before the break. Sharing some of the communally used amenities such as the rental rooms will make these students cost share some of the expenses hence make them save quite a good amount of money (Deumert et al., 2005). Kuwait students also need to reduce their luxury expenses and invest more on the basic needs like food and internet which help their studies. In most cases luxuries like partying, living in expensive rooms are seen to be the major cause of financial waste for the Kuwait students. To be able to organize their allowances to enable them cope up with the high cost of living, the Kuwaiti Students need to prefer institutions which are away from the urban areas. In these rural areas, the cost of living is favorably cheap as compared to the cost of living in urban Areas. It is estimated that learning in the Australian rural institution will make foreign students save up to $1000 a month (Deumert et al., 2005). This is supported by the fact that the cost of living in such areas is a bit lower as compared to the urban areas. For example, renting a one bedroom house in Rural Australia will cost at most $ 550 a month. Through following the provided instructions on how to organize their allowances; these students are able to cope up with the growing cost of living in Australia. 6. Conclusion In conclusion, it could be argued that with the varying cost of living in Australia the increased Kuwait allowances cannot match the student’s expenditure in the case that they live in the urban areas. The situation is different for the cost of living in the rural Australia. The allowances for Kuwait students can allow them to comfortably cope up with the cost of living in rural Australia. With the growing number of Kuwaiti Sponsored students in Australia, there is a need to disperse the students in different institutions of learning in Australia and not only the institutions in the urban areas. This will help the sponsors save much money and at the same time make the students live within the range of allowances provided by their sponsors. 7. Recommendations The Kuwaiti government or sponsors need to opt for learning institutions in Australia, which are based on the rural areas. It will make its students live a comfortable life while studying in this foreign country. The sponsor also needs to mandate every student to remit a report every month of their spending on the allowances allocated to them. This will create a sense of responsibility and accountability within these students; they will also avoid over expenditure on leisure activities that they involve in. Another recommendation is that the sponsors should increase the allowances of those students in the urban areas such as Sidney and Melbourne to help them cope up with the high cost of living in these cities. It could be argued that the scarcity of goods and services causing high cost of living in Australia Urban areas is caused by the high population in these areas. Bibliography AUSTRALIA. (2008). Overseas trading. [Melbourne, Vic.], Dept. of Commerce and Agriculture. Deumert, A., Marginson, S., Nyland, C., Ramia, G., & Sawir, E. (2005). Global Migration and Social Protection Rights The Social and Economic Security of Cross-Border Students in Australia. Global Social Policy, 5(3), 329-352. The guardian (n.d.). Retrieved November 28, 2014, from http://www.theguardian.com/education/2013/aug/14/australia-most-expensive-place- study Kuwait country brief – Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. (n.d.). Retrieved November 28, 2014, from https://www.dfat.gov.au/geo/kuwait/country_brief.html Read More