When the only education loan scheme for students in Maldives announced awardees, ALAC received complaints from some applicants who pointed out inconsistencies in how the points were given to different applicants and alleged that some applicants were unduly favoured when awarding points. Following ALAC’s intervention, Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) took on the case and a re-evaluation of the applicants was ordered.
The Tertiary Education Loan Scheme, worth MVR 68 million (about US$ 4.4 million), was launched in June 2013 by the Ministry of Education. The scheme facilitates tertiary education opportunities in the Maldives as well as abroad. Under the scheme students were allowed to apply for study abroad if the courses they apply for were not available in the Maldives. A total of 650 students applied for the scheme, out of which 250 were to be chosen.
As the Ministry of Education was planning to award the loans on the day after the applicants getting the loans were announced, ALAC advised the complainants to go directly to the ACC and lodge the complaint as an urgent case. ALAC coordinated with the complainants during the complaint lodging process to the conclusion of the issue by ACC. ACC acted on the complaint immediately, stopping the awarding ceremony and ordering the Ministry of Education to re-evaluate the vetting procedure.
Read more about the case here http://minivannews.com/politics/acc-orders-re-evaluation-of-overseas-student-loan-scheme-74704