Ministry of Higher Education has signed the agreement for the third round of grant aid provided by the Government of Japan for the continuation of scholarship opportunities to be offered under the Japanese Project for Human Resource Development Scholarship (JDS).
The agreement was signed by Minister of Higher Education Dr. Ibrahim Hassan and Representative of the Japan International Corporation Agency (JICA) Motoo Taki. Those in attendance at the signing ceremony included Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Ahmed Khaleel, Ambassador of Japan to the Maldives Takeuchi Midori, and President of Civil Service Commission (CSC) Mohamed Nasih.
Speaking at the ceremony, Minister Hassan said that more higher education opportunities are being provided to Maldivians under the leadership of President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih. As such, he said that the administration has been establishing Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) centres across the country and providing higher education loans and financial assistance to study abroad.
The higher education ministry stated that scholarships will be granted for opportunities to study in the fields of environment, climate change, and disaster management, as well as economic and industrial policy. The chosen applicants will receive the opportunity to achieve a Master of Public Policy, Master of Public Administration, Master of Arts in Public Policy, or a Master of Arts in International Relations.
The ministry stated that the scholarship applications will be open in late 2022. The applicants are required to be between 22 and 39 years of age and must have achieved a bachelor’s degree. They are also required to be a civil servant or an employee at an non-governmental organisation (NGO) with two years of experience.
JDS scholarship programmes take 1-2 years to complete and aim to develop human resources in the Maldives. It is the third year the Japanese government has been providing the scholarship opportunities. Currently, 13 Maldivian students are enrolled in the programme.