Higher Education Minister Dr. Ali Haidar Ali, on Tuesday, said the Ministry will be introducing a mobile application under the name ‘Higher Education Management System’  for students studying abroad under government funding to report complaints and difficulties they face.
While responding to questions in Parliament on Tuesday about the challenges faced by students, Minister Haidar stated that the Ministry is working on implementing a modern solution to address complaints from students.
“In this regard, we are introducing an app called ‘Higher Education Management System’ which will be completed by October. I note that we can address complaints from students promptly through this app,” he said.
In meantime, Minister Haidar said the Ministry will be setting up special Whatsapp hotlines to receive complaints from students, with a separate hotline for each country where over 50 Maldivian students reside. The first hotline has already been operationalized, he added.
Maldivian students studying abroad continue to face various difficulties, especially related to their finances. Just recently, Maldivian pilot students studying in Spain under the government loan scheme raised crucial concerns regarding difficulties faced by the students in obtaining visas and the lack of adequate stipend for expenses incurred for this, as a result of which they are forced to spend from their pockets.
The students raised their concerns via a letter to the Ministry in February.
Referring to this, Minister Haidar said he held an online meeting with the students last week following which the Ministry has commenced efforts to address the concerns raised by them.
The government spends some MVR 1.5 billion on student loans each year, which is disbursed biannually.