President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has revealed that the government has spent more than USD64.8 million on loans to provide higher education and training to 2,000 students. He made the remarks while speaking at the award ceremony of the President's Scholarship and High Achievers' Scholarship for the top achievers in the 2022 General Certificate of Education (GCE) Advanced Level examinations.
Speaking at the ceremony, President Solih said the government has provided Maldivians with many higher education opportunities to study desired fields abroad unlike in the past. He highlighted that the government launched a free degree programme in 2019 which has benefited more than 17,000 students. He added that USD35.7 million has been spent on the programme and that over 6,500 students have graduated under the programme so far. He added that the government has also increased the loan opportunities provided to 1,986 students.
The government has reduced the interest rate on student loans from 5% to 1% and extended the repayment period to 20 years. In addition, 418 students are currently studying at state expense and on scholarships from 25 partner countries, excluding free degrees and student loan schemes. The government has spent USD16.7 million on scholarships so far.