Study in Maldives

The higher education system of the Maldives is represented by 4 universities with 40 study programs. Also, 33 Bachelor programs at 4 universities and 7 Master programs at 3 universities. The Maldives, an enlightened, market-friendly country, contains both public and private higher education institutions (HIEs).

The Maldives College of Higher Education (MCHE) was the main public sector higher education institution until February 2011, when it was converted into the Maldives National University (MNU).

It is situated on the main island of Malé, and has departments of arts, education, engineering technology, health sciences, hospitality & tourism sciences, Islamic studies, management & computing, and Shari’ah & law, as well centers for maritime studies, and open learning. Student numbers are approximately 4,000, with a further 2,000 enrolled for short courses.

A majority of students in the MNU, however, are at a pre-degree level, reflecting its history as a college. The Maldives Polytechnic is the other public sector higher education institution. There are also seven major private providers of higher education courses and programs. Over 95 percent of enrolment in these private HEIs are in pre-degree level diploma and certificate programs.

The Maldives is composed of a few thousand small islands located south of India. These diverse islets make the Maldives quite a fascinating and undoubtedly picturesque destination. It is safe to assume that the Maldives can be found on almost everyone's travel bucket list. It's truly a piece of paradise here on Earth.

The Maldives is also considered as an important crossroad in the Indian Ocean trade routes. Through the years, the country's population has steadily increased and has become more diversified.

With its remote location and geographical specifics, this scattered group of islands has earned a reputation as one of the most picturesque vacation destinations but is not exactly known for its universities and other educational establishments.

With that, studying in the Maldives has its benefits. You will get to spend time in a truly fascinating natural setting with plenty of opportunities to explore nearby islands. You will get acquainted with a different culture and get a peek behind the country's resort setting and into the life of its people.

Finally, as one of the world's top tourist destinations, the Maldives offers a variety of opportunities in the fields of hospitality and tourism, and you will be able to see how the islands operate in the tourist season first hand.

The Government of Maldives (GOM) is seeking to accelerate human development and economic, prosperity within the political framework of modern liberal democracy.

The government's reform program to achieve this goal, outlined in the policy statement "The Other Maldives [Government of Maldives (2009a)] " contains five pillars: good governance to strengthen democratic institutions and processes; expansion and development of human capital; climate change and adaptation; public sector reform to streamline the delivery of services and improve efficiency; and macroeconomic reform to promote private-sector-led growth.

While the majority of courses at the national university are taught in Dhivehi, there are also English-language courses and degree programs available ' mostly in the fields on business management and tourism.

The Maldives is the first country to ever introduce a National University Act that was established in the year 2011 to improve the access to higher tertiary education in the country.

According to the Act, the university aimed at providing education and training to secondary graduates in areas necessary for national development will run under a university council.

The Act requires the university to be established within 30 days of ratification of the Act. Maldives College of Higher Education (MCHE) will also be transferred under the university according to the Act.

The structure of the higher education sector in the Maldives is typical of small countries. The higher education institutions do not specialize in degree level and postgraduate degree programs in small countries, as they do in large countries.

Instead, these institutions offer a variety of courses and programs, at pre-degree certificate and diploma levels, as well as a degree and postgraduate degree level.

All Maldivian higher education providers focus mainly on short-duration vocational higher education (SVHE) programs such as pre-degree certificates and diplomas.

The majority of degree and postgraduate degree/diploma programs that are offered by the MNU and two other colleges, Mandhu and Villa, are accredited and/or awarded by overseas universities.

The SVHE certificates and diplomas offered by the various institutions are awarded sometimes by the Maldivian higher education institutions themselves, and sometimes by overseas higher education institutions.

Over time, several people around the globe are finding more reasons for traveling abroad to expand their education. And it is by unreasonable doubt for you to consider the Maldives as a destination of choice in your pursuit of tertiary education. There are many reasons that can suffice as factors that you can consider in pursuing studies in the Maldives.

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About Maldives

The Maldives, officially the Republic of Maldives, is a small island nation in South Asia, located in the Arabian Sea of the Indian Ocean. It lies southwest of Sri Lanka and India, about 1,000 kilometers (620 mi) from the Asian continent.

The Maldives is located in the south of India's Lakshadweep Islands in the Indian Ocean. Both nations established diplomatic relations after the independence of Maldives from British rule in 1966.

India was one of the first nations to recognize Maldives' independence. The Maldives is one nation that is known for freedom of religion for locals as well as internationals too.

The 2008 constitution of the Maldives designates Islam as the state religion. Only Muslims are allowed to hold citizenship in the country and citizens may only practice Islam.

The Republic of Maldives is an archipelago consisting of twenty-six coral atolls, in the northern Indian Ocean. The chain of islands extends 510 miles (820 kilometers), but occupies an area of just 116 square miles (300 square kilometers), roughly 1.5 times the size of Washington D.C. The closest neighbors are India and Sri Lanka.

The twenty-six coral atolls contain 1,190 very small islands of which 198 are inhabited. Most of the islands are close to the atoll enclosure reef, and some are still in the process of forming.

The longest is Gan in Adu atoll. Because the islands are coral-based, they are flat and low-lying. As a result, the water table is high. However, the islands are protected from the elements by the reef and rarely have major storms.

In the older islands, a larger layer of topsoil has formed, and these islands are covered with coconut trees, breadfruit, and dense shrubs. Agricultural potential is limited by the high alkalinity of the soil and its poor water retention. However, people grow vegetables, fruits, and yams.

The climate is warm and tropical. Seasonal changes are determined by the two-yearly monsoons. The season of the northeast monsoon is characterized by dry, mild winds, and generally extends from December to April.

The southwest monsoon, although irregular, extends from May until August and brings heavy rains and wind. The northern atolls are drier, while the southern atolls are wetter. The humidity is fairly high throughout the year.

Political tensions eased with the election of the opposition candidate and architect of the Maldivian multi-party system Ibrahim Mohamed Solih in September 2018. Under his predecessor, Abdulla Yameen, the country underwent an authoritarian shift, accompanied by a deterioration in security and of the business climate.

The new government, which won a 74% majority in the April 2019 parliamentary elections, has set its sights on improving the institutional framework, including steps to strengthen the rule of law and press freedom.

The Maldives is a prized geostrategic partner due to its position on international trade routes in the Indian Ocean. China has established its influence through a free trade agreement and significant infrastructure investments (over USD 1.2 billion) under the Maritime Silk Roads project. The change of government in 2018 revived the struggle for influence, with the new coalition expressing its desire to renew historical ties with India.

Male is the capital of the Maldives, the country’s largest and most populous city. With that, it is still quite small in area (about six square kilometers) and has a population of a bit over 150,000 people. Like in the rest of the country, work opportunities in Male mainly can be found in the hospitality field.

More than 25 percent of the population live in Male', while the rest are distributed among just under 200 other inhabited islands. The Maldives had attained a national income per capita of USD 2,786 in 2009. This is the highest GDP per capita among countries in the South Asia region.

The Maldives also has the best position among South Asian countries in the doing business indicators, at 85'th in the world. The country ranks at 107'th in the human development index (HDI) for 2010, which is the second-highest HDI rank in South Asia after Sri Lanka.

About Maldives Economy

The Maldives has a mixed economic system which includes a variety of business and fiscal freedom, combined with centralized economic planning and government regulation. Maldives is a member of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).

56.5 points are the average score for the economic freedom in the Maldives, which, therefore, makes it is economy the 119th freest in the 2020 Index. Its overall score has increased by 3.3 points due to a large increase in the fiscal health score.

The Maldives is ranked 27th among 42 countries in the Asia–Pacific region, and its overall score is well below the regional and world averages.

On the economic front, major infrastructure projects will remain essential, but President Solih has also announced measures to promote diversification and competitiveness, which will involve support for SMEs and the agricultural sector.

However, the Maldives has moved down to 147th in the World Bank’s Doing Business 2020 ranking, its fifth consecutive downgrade, due to the lack of economic reforms in the current government’s first year in power.

The economy of the Maldives has been mostly unfree for the past seven years. GDP growth, on the other hand, has been robust because of strong tourism receipts.

To enhance economic freedom, the government must confront weakness across many Index indicators including inadequate rule of law (property rights, judicial effectiveness, and government integrity); still-poor fiscal health; and a general lack of investment freedom and financial freedom.

Improvement in these areas would help the government to deliver on its promises to reduce debt, tackle corruption and human rights abuses, and reform the judiciary.

The Maldives' government levies no personal income or corporate tax. Bank profits are subject to a profit tax. The overall tax burden equals 20.5 percent of total domestic income, with significant revenue coming from import tariffs.

Government spending has amounted to 32.7 percent of the country's output (GDP) over the past three years, and budget deficits have averaged 5.6 percent of GDP. Public debt is equivalent to 61.5 percent of GDP.

The total value of exports and imports of goods and services equals 139.9 percent of GDP. The average applied tariff rate is 12.0 percent, and nontariff barriers further increase the cost of a trade.

Bureaucracy in the investment approval process hampers the investment regime. Banking has expanded, but high costs and limited access to financial services contribute to the overall shallowness of the financial sector.

The Maldives has quickly become a middle-income country, driven by the rapid growth of its tourism and fisheries sectors, but the country still contends with a large and growing fiscal deficit. Infrastructure projects, largely funded by China, could add significantly to debt levels.

Political turmoil and the declaration of a state of emergency in February 2018 led to the issuance of travel warnings by several countries whose citizens visit the Maldives in significant numbers, but the overall impact on tourism revenue was unclear.

In 2015, Maldives’ Parliament passed a constitutional amendment legalizing foreign ownership of land; foreign land-buyers must reclaim at least 70% of the desired land from the ocean and invest at least $1 billion in a construction project approved by Parliament.

Diversifying the economy beyond tourism and fishing, reforming public finance, increasing employment opportunities, and combating corruption, cronyism, and a growing drug problem are near-term challenges facing the government.

Over the longer term, Maldivian authorities worry about the impact of erosion and possible global warming on their low-lying country; 80% of the area is 1 meter or less above sea level.

The current account deficit is massive but began to narrow in 2019, thanks to strong tourism revenues and a reduced deficit in the trade of goods due to lower construction imports, as several projects were completed or postponed.

As these two trends are expected to continue, the current account will continue rebalancing in 2020. The deficit is financed by external debt for public projects, while the private sector depends on FDI. Foreign exchange reserves are low, covering only one month of imports.

Nevertheless, as tourism companies use the dollar for both their spending and income, a negative shock to this sector would have a limited impact on reserves. The banking system remains underdeveloped, with private credit amounting to just 31% of GDP. However, it is well-capitalized, and the quality of its assets has been constantly improving since 2012.

Tourism will once again be the economic driving force (24% of GDP). The sector continued to expand in the first half of 2019, with 18.7% more tourist arrivals than in the first half of 2018.

While Europe remains the leading region of origin for tourists, the 2019 growth was due to a rebound in Asian partners (20.4% increase in arrivals), which represents 37.9% of travelers.

The number of Indian tourists, in particular, has doubled. This relative diversification bodes well, and the main threat to Maldivian growth today would be a sharp decline in global growth, via its impact on tourist budgets.

The addition of an airstrip and a new passenger terminal at Malé airport will increase the inflows of tourists on the island from 1.4 million in 2018 to 2 million in 2020.

However, despite its importance, the project has seen delays, which could create a bottleneck in the tourism sector. Construction slowed in 2019, as many projects were completed, but it will remain one of the mainstays of economic activity in 2020.

Although the fishing sector needs to be modernized, it still accounts for 20% of employment and 10% of GDP. Inflation is expected to remain low in 2020, thanks to the moderation of world energy prices and the continuation of the food subsidy policies adopted in 2018.

Why Study in Maldives

Affordable Tuition Fees in Maldives
Education system
The first university in the Maldives was established in 2011 under the National University Act. Maldives National University (previously the Maldives College of Higher Education) is, thus, the country's primary educational establishment offering post-secondary education. Here, you can study a variety of subjects ' but a strong emphasis is placed on engineering, health science, education, tourism, and management.
Affordable Accomodation in Maldives
Unique Experience
Students have the opportunity to study for Undergraduate and Postgraduate Programmes from prestigious universities in Europe at the comfort of their home at an affordable price. With this unique setting, our students can access facilities from host universities and experience a global learning experience. Lecturers are not only lecturers but active researchers, some of them with an international reputation for publication.
International Environment in Maldives
Natural Beauty
The Maldives is known as "the tropical paradise" for reasons such as its beauty. This tropical country has separated islands and islands are surrounded by its lagoon. Each island has pure white sandy beaches. The sea covers 99% of the Maldives and it is where you can see beautiful fishes and corals. The culture of the Maldives is influenced by the cultures of the people of different ethnicities who have settled on the islands throughout the times.
Great Weather in Maldives
Quality
The quality of Maldivian higher education needs to be demonstrably up to international standards. As a small country, the Maldives must be sure that its higher education is of high quality. This means that it is very dependent on establishing international partnerships and links so that it does not lose touch with global standards and developments in higher education.

Scholarships

Student Loan Maldives 2020, Malaysia Scholarship Maldives, Australian Scholarships for Maldivian Students, Maldives Government Scholarships.

The latest scholarship updates for Maldives students and foreign students are usually publicized through various online platforms. These include Common Wealth Scholarships, Maldives Government Scholarships, and other scholarships from Multinationals for students' financial assistance in pursuing higher degrees.

There are hundreds of free scholarships available for international students from a wide variety of sources such as the Government, department of higher education, and other organizations.

Maldives Student Visa

Each country’s visa has a different application, but you must get one if you want to study abroad. You will work with the embassy of the country you want to study in to find details on what their requirements are.

Be prepared to apply at least two months in advance (do not wait to apply once abroad) and have proof of a residence abroad, intent to depart from the country upon completion of your studies, proof of financial support, a passport, and an acceptance letter to your college.