Avid College has accused the Maldives Qualifications Authority (MQA) of taking action against it to destroy public trust, claiming that the college has not conducted any courses through international educational institutions since September 10 of last year.
The MQA fined Avid College last Sunday, stating that it had repeated an offense involving the issuance of credentials or certificates to students who were not registered at the college. In a statement released after taking action, the MQA noted that it had previously advised and penalized the institution earlier this year regarding an issue where certificates were issued to Sri Lankan students who were not registered at Avid College.
However, the MQA statement added that it has since come to the authority's attention that the college has once again issued credentials to students who were not registered.
In a statement released today, Avid College stated that over the past years, the college has secured numerous relationships with international educational institutions and informed the MQA accordingly. The statement also noted that the regulations regarding conducting accredited programs abroad came into existence on September 10 of last year.
".... Avid College has not conducted any courses through international educational institutions after tenth September 2025. Furthermore, following the gazetting of the regulations on this date, Avid College has informed those international educational institutions that no transactions can be carried out in violation of those regulations, and this has also been brought to the attention of the MQA," Avid College's statement said.
Avid alleged that the MQA took action against the college this time without clarifying any information regarding the matter and without even questioning the college.
The statement from Avid further claimed that this was done due to a lack of sincerity on the MQA's part, in order to destroy the trust and confidence the public holds in the college.
"... and it is certain that this is an act contrary to the principles of justice, carried out to tarnish the good reputation of Avid College," Avid's statement said.
Although the MQA took action and fined Avid, neither the authority nor Avid College has disclosed the amount of the fine.
The MQA stated that while conducting programs in violation of the authority's program accreditation regulations and the regulations on conducting accredited programs outside the Maldives is prohibited, it also decreases international trust in the standard of higher education in the Maldives and increases the likelihood of questions being raised regarding the validity of credentials issued by Maldivian institutions.
The MQA has appealed to the public and educational institutions to verify through its website that a program is authorized by the authority before participating in or conducting any program.
