Ministry of Higher Education has awarded loans to 514 students under the higher education loan scheme announced in February.
Speaking at a press conference held to announce the awarding of loans, Minister of Higher Education Dr. Ibrahim Hassan said over 1,000 students applied for the loans under the latest scheme, while 514 students were awarded the loans after fulfilling the eligibility criteria. He said the students who received the loans include 15 students from the international licence category, 48 students from diploma level, 264 students from bachelor's degree level, 160 students from master's degree level and 27 students from PhD level.
Speaking further, the higher education minister revealed although the international licence category loans were previously only issued for pilot training, the latest awardees from the category include students seeking licences in the fields of air-traffic control, marine and aircraft engineering. He also noted while 46 individuals applied for the slots opened for electoral constituencies, only 10 of them were eligible to receive the loans.
Similar to previous years, slots were reserved for certain fields based on the Training Needs Analysis carried out by the higher education ministry and the Strategic Action Plan of the administration. As such, slots were reserved in the fields of medicine, fisheries and agriculture.
The ministry further revealed special consideration was given for the financial background of applicants, in order to ensure loans were awarded fairly. The ministry said the list of awardees and their details can be found on its website.