Education Ministry invites applications for MVR 68 million tertiary education loan scheme

The Ministry of Education has invited applications for a tertiary education loan scheme worth MVR 68 million.

The scheme will facilitate tertiary education opportunities in the Maldives as well as abroad.

Minister of State for Education Aminath Ali told Sun Online today that the scheme, introduced last year by the government, will facilitate tertiary education opportunities for 1,000 students this year.

She said that the 1,000 opportunities will be facilitated in two phases, with 500 opportunities being made available in the first phase.

“Under this tertiary loan scheme introduced last year, 1,000 students were given the opportunity to go for higher studies. We will give this opportunity to 1,000 students this year as well. This time under this tertiary loan scheme, the opportunities to go for higher studies will be given in two phases. The first phase is for 500 students, and later in the year we will invite 500 more. About MVR 68 million will be spent in phase one,” she said.

She said that this year, 290 students will be given the opportunity to obtain tertiary education in Maldives, and 210 will be given the opportunity to go abroad.

“Out of the 500 students, 290 students will have the opportunity to obtain tertiary education in Maldives. This includes 30 opportunities for degree foundation, 60 for diploma, 140 for degree, and 60 for masters. In total, there will be 290 opportunities in Maldives. And 210 students will have the opportunity to go abroad. This includes 140 opportunities for degree, 60 for maters, and 10 for medicine MBBS,” she said.

Speaking on the differences between the schemes of last year and this year, she said that last year, the loan was only available to new students wishing to go for higher education, whereas this year, the loan is available also to students whose studies are already under way.

She said that changes had also been made to the policy on giving marks to applicants. This year, the industries in the Maldives for which trained people are required will be considered when selecting students, with 15 points being given to applicants in these industries.

Aminath Ali said that priority will also be given to students who have not received any financial support for tertiary education from the government over the last three years, and applicants who are currently employed.

She also urged applicants to peruse the loan scheme regulation before applying for the loan. She said that instead of applying for a particular course, the students will have the opportunity to choose the area of tertiary education to apply for this year.

Aminath Ali said that the purpose of introducing such a loan scheme is to provide the opportunity to gain higher education to students who have financial difficulties, and to train people in the areas for which trained personnel are required in the Maldives.

She said that the application forms can be submitted from 25 June to 2 July, and the forms will be processed within two weeks of submission.

Only 526 students applied when the government opened 1,000 positions under the loan scheme last year.