Parents have raised concerns over delays in the disbursement of stipends for students studying abroad on the President’s Special Scholarship.
The President’s Special Scholarship is awarded to top-performing students who have attained ‘A*’ in five subjects, including Islam and Dhivehi in A’ Level examinations, with a minimum grade of ‘C’ in English in O’ Levels. Scholarship recipients can pursue their first degree in a country of their choice, with the government covering all expenses related to their education.
Stipends for students studying abroad under the scholarship are disbursed twice a year — for the periods January to June and July to December.
Students and parents have raised concerns over delays in the disbursement of the stipend due in July.
A parent of a student studying in Australia who spoke to Sun said the stipend was regularly deposited as scheduled in the early days of the child’s stay in Australia. However, the parent noted that the stipend due in July has not been deposited to date.
The parent detailed going to Higher Education Ministry to clarify the reason behind the delay two weeks ago. According the parent, the Ministry informed that it had been unable to disburse the stipend as they have not received the necessary funds. The parent visited the Ministry four days later, upon which the Ministry confirmed receiving the funds, adding the stipend will be disbursed to students by the Finance Ministry within a week.
However, the parent said the stipend was not disbursed by the end of the promised week. The parent added that their child, who is deeply concerned about the situation, has been constantly messaging them to express their worries.
“How difficult must it be without the money. Moreover, Australia is a highly expensive country,” the parent added.
A student who spoke to Sun expressed the same sentiments, citing some students who have yet to receive stipend are deeply concerned over delays. The student, who is studying in the United Kingdom on President’s Special Scholarship, reported receiving the stipend due on July 1st very late.
The student, emphasizing that there have always been delays in receiving stipend, said they were able to pay last year’s university tuition fee very late due to these delays.
Students face severe difficulties due to the government’s failure to disburse funds as scheduled. This includes delays in paying tuition fees, resulting in warning letters from the university.
Higher Education Ministry has not responded to Sun’s queries regarding these concerns.
According to statistics published by the Higher Education Ministry in August, a total of MVR 350.9 million has been spent on scholarships from last year up to the present. This accounts for the expenses of 268 students.
Meanwhile, the government has spent MVR 101.8 million on scholarships as of August.
There are 607 students currently studying in 20 countries, including the Maldives, under various scholarship schemes.
While concerns have been raised over delays in disbursing stipends to students studying abroad on government scholarships, there have also been concerns about delays in disbursing funds to students studying abroad on government loans.
According to Finance Ministry’s ‘Weekly Fiscal Development’ report, the government has spent MVR 333.6 million on student loans as of August 28th – a decrease of MVR 120.7 million compared to the same period last year. In this regard, MVR 454.3 million was spent on student loans during the same period last year.
Finance Ministry’s report shows that expenditure on education and higher education is lower than what has been budgeted.