Ministry of Education has stated that the administration’s free degree programme has eliminated the need for high-performing students to ask for funds or take loans to pursue more educational opportunities.
Speaking to PSM News, Deputy Minister of Education Ahmed Mujahid said that one of the top policies of President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih is to build a highly educated generation by providing all citizens with an equal opportunity to pursue higher education. He highlighted how students had previously been forced to ask for funding or loans to pursue higher education and how only individuals from privileged families were able to receive such opportunities.
Furthermore, Deputy Minister Mujahid said that the administration has paved the way for students to be able to study in their residential islands instead of having to travel to other islands. He said that such developmental efforts are valuable to building a better future for the nation.
The free degree programme was launched on February 14, 2019, to implement the policy of increasing educational and training opportunities for Maldivian youth and building human resources across different professional fields. President Solih has revealed that 15,000 students have enrolled and are now studying under the free degree programme, reiterating the aim of the government is to produce a generation of well-rounded, highly educated young people who can contribute meaningfully to nation-building. The administration has spent around USD30 million on the programme in the past four years.
As part of the efforts to promote higher education and training, the government is also providing student loans every year. In addition, junior colleges and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) centres are being developed in the atolls, to facilitate more opportunities for the youth across the nation. The government has also spent around USD31 million to provide scholarship opportunities abroad, of which USD3 million was spent this year.