An amendment has been proposed to the Higher Education Act to shorten the duration of converting a college to a university from 20 to 15 years.
An amendment to the Higher Education Act has been proposed to allow a colleges to be converted into a university after 15 years of continuous operation.
The Act currently stipulates that a college can be converted in to a university after 20 years of continuous operation.
The amendment proposed by ruling party People's National Congress (PNC) member and MP for South Maafannu constituency Abdulla Rifau (Bochey) suggests reducing the required duration of continuous operation to 15 years.
There are currently only two state-run universities in the Maldives, which are Maldives National University (MNU) and Maldives Islamic University (IUM). However, there are numerous colleges in operation, with the oldest being Villa College, set to celebrate its 17th anniversary on October 17 this year.
Therefore, if the proposed amendment by MP Rifau is passed, Villa College will be converted into a university this year.
In addition to shortening the period for transfer to a university, the proposed amendment also requires that at least three out of five fields of national qualifications framework programs at level 7 (degree level) and level 9 (master’s degree) be offered by the college or foreign university.
The courses include;
- Arts and Humanities
- Engineering and Technology
- Life Science and Medicine
- Natural Sciences
- Social Sciences
The college must also enroll at least 1,000 students in courses at level seven and above.
- Be part of an international university ranking, or be classified in such a ranking where the programs have been in operation for at least five years.
- Have spent at least five years as a member of an organization involving foreign universities and as a member of an international quality assurance organization.
- Have experience in conducting international-level research with overseas universities and organizations.
- At least 10 percent of its lecturing staff must hold a PhD in their respective fields.
- Adequate facilities have been established to operate as a university.
During the previous 19th parliament, there was also a proposal to reduce the requirements for university conversion. Former Ihavandhoo MP Ahmed Shifau had suggested shortening the conversion duration to 10 years at the time.
However, the amendment did not pass during the committee stage.
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