Higher Education Ministry has said that there are more than 750 people who studied abroad to become pilots at the government's expense and came back.
Mihaaru News submitted a request to the ministry under the Right to Information Act (RTI), which revealed that 789 students who pursued pilot training have since returned to the Maldives.
The ministry also said that there are 126 students who are currently studying abroad to become pilots.
These figures encompass those on student loans and government scholarships. There are quite a number of those who are paying for their education out of pocket as well.
Around 500 individuals were given the opportunity to study pilotry during the last three years of former President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih's government.
However, there is an issue of "an increase" of pilots who are unemployed in Maldives.
Transport Minister Mohamed Ameen gestured to statistics and stated last year that more than 200 pilots were unemployed.
Only two companies hire cadet pilots in Maldives, which are TMA and Maldivian.
At the time, Ameen said that only 25 job opportunities are created by both companies within a year. And so, it is the responsibility of the government to hand out scholarships in line with the career opportunities that are available, said Ameen.
Last year, the current government decided to not offer loan schemes to study pilotry as job opportunities were not being created as needed in Maldives.
As there is a difficulty in pilots finding work, an opportunity to change courses after speaking to the parents of the students on loan who had not yet gone for their studies was offered. Some students had changed courses last year.
Some pilots who finished their studies and came back are still working at resorts in different industries.
