President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has appointed Dr. Abdul Hannan Waheed as the CEO of the Maldives Qualification Authority (MQA) after constituting with the MQA Advisory board.
Dr. Abdul Hannan attained his Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Education at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Brisbane, Australia. He previously served as the CEO of MQA and the Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) Authority. He also served in several other positions in the education sector.
Meanwhile, Minister of State for Higher Education Khadeeja Adam was appointed as an education expert representing the Ministry of Higher Education at the MQA Advisory Board. Dr. Ahmed Ali Manik and Dr. Aishath Reesha were appointed as experts from the higher education and training sector. Vice-Chancellor of Maldives National University (MNU) Dr. Mohamed Shareef was selected among vice-chancellors of universities in the Maldives, while Director of Programmes of Maldives Institute of Technology Adam Haleem was appointed as a member selected from the technical and vocational sector, and Director of Villa College Moosa Mohamed Manik was appointed as a member selected among private higher education institutions and colleges for the MQA Advisory Board.
Furthermore, President Solih appointed Ahmed Nasheed as the CEO of the Maldives National Skills Development Authority. Ahmed Nasheed holds a Master of Engineering Science (Renewable Energy Engineering) from Curtin University of Technology, Australia. He has over 28 years of experience across a wide range of fields. Prior to his appointment, Ahmed Nasheed served as the Minister of State for National Planning, Housing and Infrastructure. He had also previously served as a Deputy Undersecretary at the President's Office and as the Chairman of South Central Utilities Limited.
The aforementioned appointments were made as per the Maldives Higher Education Act. The positions of the CEO at MQA and Maldives National Skills Development Authority is equal to the rank of Minister of State.