Minister of Higher Education Dr. Ibrahim Hassan has revealed over 350 individuals have applied for student loans under the higher education loan scheme.
Speaking on a programme aired on PSM News, Minister Ibrahim Hassan said the ministry has made arrangements to ease the application processes. Noting 550 loans are expected to be issued in the first phase, the minister said the response to the first round has been very positive with over 350 individuals applying via the portal established by the ministry. He said the portal has also been updated after revisions based on experience from previous rounds.
The higher education minister said students had issues in the past in accessing the portal due to a server issue. The minister said National Centre for Information Technology (NCIT) has sorted the issue following concerns from the ministry and students. He urged applicants to submit their applications early instead of waiting for the last minute.
The ministry has reserved slots for certain areas of study similar to previous years based on a training needs analysis. The reservation process also considered the Strategic Action Plan launched by the administration. Areas such as fishing, agriculture and medicine have been included after considering the requirements.
Minister Ibrahim Hassan said 11 slots have been reserved for postgraduate medical specialisations as Maldives lacks human resources in the area, and offers to develop postgraduate medical specialisations are also limited. Hence, the ministry intends to prioritise students who attain a seat from a medical college.
The ministry has also revised loan award policies to improve the loan process and make it more effective. Hence, the policy will consider the financial status of the applicants.
Under the new policy, students who have discontinued their studies due to financial issues can also apply for loans. The students now do not require to attest academic certificates when submitting the loan application.
The policy has also been revised to include staff working in diplomatic missions and their family members. A slot for each constituency has also been reserved to distribute the loan opportunities across Maldives.