Ministry of Higher Education has developed a policy dictating the consequences of a student declining a higher education scholarship. The purpose of this policy, according to the ministry, is to ensure that students offered higher education scholarships and loans take them in a timely and beneficial manner.
Highlighting that this is a measure taken to provide opportunities for a bigger student population to pursue higher education, the ministry further explained this policy also mitigates the impact of such refusals on the government and the people. According to the policy by the Ministry of Higher Education, the students who decline offers can be fined and blacklisted restricting them from applying to other higher education opportunities announced by the ministry.
The policy also states strict measures for false information, forged documents, and deceit as any of these result in a fine and getting students blacklisted for 5 years. According to the policy, the students who do not return to Maldives after the completion of the programs abroad, will be blacklisted for a period of between 3 to 24 months. Students who quit their programs without a sound reason shall be also fined and blacklisted for a period of 3 to 24 months. The same penalty applies for students whose negligence costs an opportunity for another student and students who withdraw their names after 48 hours of announcement of offers.
The ministry, however, explained that declining an offer based on well-founded justifications in case of unforeseen events shall incur no penalty. The ministry will evaluate student justifications based on the documents submitted. While the ministry has previously approved declining of offers without penalty, this new policy will ensure transparency and impartiality.