Minister of Higher Education, Labour and Skills Development Dr Ali Haidar Ahmed has announced arrangements to release funds to overseas students within two weeks of complete information submission.

Speaking at the Parliament's Social Affairs Committee, Minister Dr Haidar explained that delays in fund disbursement occur when students submit incomplete information or apply too close to payment deadlines.

"Most delays occur because required information is incomplete. When applications are submitted close to deadlines, it creates challenges. The process involves verifying information at our Ministry before sending it to the Ministry of Finance for release. All these steps take time," he explained.

Meeting deadlines becomes difficult with late submissions, as the Ministry must verify and confirm certain requirements before releasing funds; however, with complete information, funds are released within one to two weeks.

"When all information is properly submitted, we can process the release through the Ministry of Finance within one to two weeks," he stated.

While the Ministry has not announced specific timeframes, they generally process payments within this period of receiving complete applications.

Mariyam Mohamed, a Ministry representative, explained that overseas student loans and scholarship funds are disbursed biannually. For loan recipients, the first payment includes tuition fees and six months' stipend, while the second covers the remainder.

For Presidential Scholarship recipients and other scholarship holders, tuition fees are released upon university invoice receipt, with living allowances paid biannually.