The President’s Office has revealed that higher education opportunities have been provided to over 16,000 students under the government’s free degree programme, while 6,519 students have graduated as of 2022.
The free degree programme was initiated by the administration in 2019. As per statistics, 4,804 students were enrolled in the programme in 2019 and 4,818 students were enrolled in 2020, and 3,301 students enrolled in 2021. A total of 3,077 students were enrolled by the end of 2022.
The higher education ministry has stated that the government has brought major developments in higher education, including the establishment of education and training centres in the atolls. The government has also begun work to build higher education centres in six islands, He also noted the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) centres, junior colleges, and polytechnic centres that are being built.
Additionally, over 1,300 students received scholarship opportunities abroad in the past three years and a total of 412 students have participated in 134 education programmes abroad. The government has held discussions with a further 41 countries and signed agreements with 16 countries to provide higher education opportunities for Maldivians.