The Minister of Higher Education, Labour and Skills Development, Dr Ali Haidar Ahmed has stressed on the need to hold day classes for undergraduate level courses in the Maldives.
Maldives’ National Qualifications Framework has defined part-time and full-time study hours, mandating the course duration of a part-time student to be twice that of a full-time student.
Speaking during a consultation meeting held to discuss possible solutions facing the higher education sector in the Maldives, Minister Dr Haidar bemoaned the lack of present distinction between part-time and full-time courses, warning that it adversely affects the quality of education provided to students.
"If such issues in the education system are not addressed immediately, there is a risk of losing the credibility of these qualifications in the Maldives and abroad. So we need to discuss what we can do today to maintain the credibility of our education system,” he said.
The Minister urged educational institutions to rethink course structures to enable working students to manage their course workloads effectively.
"We should encourage and facilitate our youth to study full-time in daytime classes, including mornings. We should all resolve today to create a timeline for daytime classes for undergraduate degrees and lower degrees within the next three years,” he added.
In addition, the Minister stressed the importance of refining educational systems to encourage students to make full use of campus facilities during the day. If the education system is shaped in such a way, the learning environment will improve and students will have time and space to pursue education in the true sense of the word, he added.
There are currently two universities, 12 colleges, a polytechnic, 90 private institutes and 27 public institutes providing higher education in the Maldives. In addition, an outpost of a famous Italian university and an Arabic language center at the Islamic University have also been established in Maldives
More than 1,800 programs ranging from certificate courses to doctorate degrees have been approved and 500 programs have been accredited by MQA since 2022, following the 128 national qualification standards developed by MQA.