Ministry of Higher Education has revealed financial assistance was provided for 198 students stranded abroad and facing grave situations due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Speaking to PSM News, Deputy Minister of Higher Education Aishath Shafeena said the administration has been providing assistance for students abroad amid the COVID-19 pandemic. In this regard, she noted 198 students abroad were provided a total of USD 65,000 under the COVID-19 assistance policy of the administration.
The higher education ministry introduced a policy on May 14 to provide financial assistance for students stranded abroad due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The policy states the student must be studying under personal funding or a private sponsorship in order to be eligible for financial assistance. The student must also be enrolled in a programme accepted by the Maldives Qualification Authority (MQA).
The policy states the amount to be provided by the administration for each student will be decided based on the daily stipend allocated by the ministry for the respective country. However, the policy states students in countries with an allocated daily stipend of over USD 50 will receive a maximum of USD 50. The assistance will be provided for a maximum of two months and will be deposited to the bank account of the student once every 14 days.
As per the policy of the higher education ministry, financial assistance will be provided for students who commenced studies before May 1 and must be abroad at the moment.