Higher Education Ministry sets aside special loans for persons with disabilities

The Ministry of Higher Education, on Thursday, confirmed the allocation of a certain number of student loans solely for persons with disabilities, wishing to pursue further studies.

A tweet by the ministry’s official handle urged those interested in applying for student loans under the persons with disability category to cement their eligibility by ensuring they are registrated at the disability database maintained by the Ministry of Gender, Family and Social Services, prior to the call to apply.

Further, according to the ministry, applications for these student loans are set to open soon.

A number of changes to the state’s student loan schemes, which cover a vast amount of programmes spanning from Diploma to PHD’s, will be announced this year, including the prioritisation of opportunities for economically disadvantaged students.

Opportunities for financial aid are available for over 87 different course categories.

In 2019, the Ministry of Higher Education reported that student loan debts incurred a cost of MVR 151 million.

This year, a total of MVR 551 million was allocated from the ministry’s annual budget towards various financial aid schemes including student loan payments and scholarships.

At present there are over 8,000 undergraduate students funded by the incumbent administration’s free-degree-programme; one of the President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih’s key electoral pledges.

Those attending Maldives National University (MNU) and Islamic University (IUM) are completely fully funded, whereas those enrolled at private universities and colleges receive a partial payment.