The Ministry of Higher Education, Labour and Skills Development has announced the opening of applications for student loans to pursue higher education and training in the Maldives and abroad.

The loan scheme is open for programmes ranging from Level 5 to Level 10 on the Maldives National Qualifications Framework. Loans will also be available for professional licence programmes, medical specialisation and medical fellowship programmes.

The Ministry said the scheme covers fields identified under the National Training Needs List, including highly technical areas and other priority sectors needed for national development.

In addition to new applicants, opportunities have also been opened for students who are already studying under the higher education loan scheme. This includes top-up loans for students who are unable to complete their studies within the originally approved period due to circumstances beyond their control. Loans will also be available for mandatory internships required to obtain professional registration and work in the Maldives in the relevant field.

The statement said a list of countries where all eligible costs will be covered under the loan scheme has been published on the portal, as in previous years. However, students will still have the opportunity to apply for loans to study in other countries. In such cases, the amount approved will be based on a comparison of the costs in the listed countries and the country chosen by the student, with the aim of reducing financial burden when repayment begins after completion of studies.

The Ministry also highlighted changes introduced to this year’s scheme.

One of the main changes is that there will no longer be a fixed application deadline. Instead, applications for loans will remain open throughout the year. The Government said this change was introduced to ensure that eligible students do not lose the opportunity to secure a loan simply because they were unable to apply within a limited timeframe.

Another major change is the removal of fixed slot allocations for many fields. While some programmes will still have a set number of slots, a wide range of fields will now remain open without a slot cap. The details of capped and uncapped fields, as well as the number of remaining slots in capped categories, will be available through the online portal and the official announcement.

The Ministry said that, except for a small number of highly technical fields listed under the Training Needs List, students applying for technical programmes will be assured access to loans once eligibility criteria are met. The move is intended to encourage more students to pursue technical education while expanding access to financing.

Another change this year is the removal of the two previous application categories for “new students” and “ongoing students”. Under the revised system, both groups will now apply under a single category, with the main difference being the documents required at the time of submission. The Ministry said this change is expected to simplify the application process and reduce disqualifications caused by applicants selecting the wrong category.

For students planning to begin studies this year, the Ministry said they must now be ready to start their programme before submitting an application. This means applicants must submit placement confirmation and fee details for the programme they intend to pursue. The change is aimed at allowing applications to be processed more quickly and enabling loan disbursement decisions to be made in a shorter period than in previous years.

The statement also noted reforms introduced earlier by President Dr Mohamed Muizzu to the student loan system. These include the removal of administrative charges or commissions that had been added to student loans in previous years, and restructuring the scheme to make it fully Shariah-compliant. As a result, students will not be required to repay any amount beyond the funds disbursed to them.

Applications must be submitted online through the portal kuri.gov.mv along with all required documents.