More than USD 69 million has been disbursed in loans and scholarships to students pursuing higher education since 2024, according to new figures from the Ministry of Higher Education, Labour and Skills Development.
The data, covering the period from the beginning of 2024 to the 11 September this year, highlights the government's investment in higher education.
The Ministry’s report detailed the financial breakdown for the period which includes USD 69.1 million disbursed as student loans to 1,226 students from 2024.
So far this year, USD 23.7 million has been allocated to 396 students, comprising 153 males and 243 females.
Overall, the loan scheme has supported 560 male and 666 female students while an additional USD 23.9 million was disbursed in scholarships during the same period.
The Ministry also reported spending over USD 17.3 million on undergraduate studies for 4,469 students since 2024.
This year alone, more than USD 7.5 million has been spent on 1,687 students.
The figures also provide insight into student enrollment and completion rates since 2024, with a total of 4,469 students newly registered for undergraduate studies majority being female students (2,806 female to 1,663 male).
Overall, 5,579 students have graduated during this period, with 2,237 of those graduating this year. Currently, 8,330 students are enrolled in their first degree programmes, the figures showed.