Ministry of Education has launched 2050 scholarship opportunities aimed to upskill the youth community of Maldives. Education Ministry opened the scholarship opportunities at the Education Expo 2017. The expo held at Dharubaage convention centre was officially inaugurated by First Lady of the Maldives, Fathimath Ibrahim. During the ceremony, Minister of Education Dr. Aishath Shiham presented a plaque of appreciation to the First Lady.
Speaking at the ceremony, Education Minister Aishath Shiham stated that it is important to develop the skills of the youth population as Maldives is competing in the international arena. The Education Minister affirmed that utmost priority would be given to make the youth creative and skillful. Developing youth and preparing youth for the future was the most important initiation since President Yameen took office in 2013, added the Minister.
The scholarship opportunities launched under the banner, 'Promoting Skills for the Future', is an initiative by the Higher Education Department of Ministry of Education aimed to provide academic opportunities for individuals with exceptional academic proficiency. The scholarship opportunity covers courses and educational skill improvement programmes organised and run by local academic institutes, according to the Ministry,
The Ministry said that students will also be able to pursue from certificate level to diploma entry scholarships under the programme. Providing information regarding the scholarships, Education Ministry added that loans for the scholarships are expected to be issued before the next academic intakes next month.
The 2050 scholarship opportunities focuses on fields such as IT technicians, firefighting and plumbing, networking and laboratory technologists, while the entry criteria includes completion of GCE ordinary level and advance level. The Ministry revealed that there are 5200 students attaining higher studies under the loan scheme and that the government has invested about USD 65 million for the programme.
President Yameen had earlier announced that the government would fund over 3000 scholarships in 2018.