The government is to introduce merit scholarships this year.

This was announced by President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih during the award ceremony of the President's Scholarship and High Achievers' Scholarship for the top achievers in the 2022 General Certificate of Education (GCE) Advanced Level examinations.

Taking the podium at the ceremony held at Umar Zahir Office Building on Monday, the president noted that the new scholarship programme carries the purpose of increasing the number of higher education opportunities the administration provides.

Students who are not eligible for the President's and High Achievers' scholarships, however, have attained the highest grades in the required subjects of their chosen field of study would qualify for the new scholarships.

President Solih also stated that the Ministry of Higher Education will be announcing further details of the new scholarship programme.

Highlighting that his administration paves the way for higher education scholarships, student loans, and awards to ensure modern education opportunities and promote higher education, President Solih added that compared to the past, his administration has offered the highest number of higher education opportunities.

He further asserted that the number of higher education scholarships provided by his administration in several professions, remains significantly higher than those offered by previous administrations.

The president went on to note that the administration's free degree programme paved the way for students from low-income families to pursue higher education.

The president was accompanied by First Lady Fazna Ahmed during Monday’s award ceremony.

Monday’s ceremony saw President Solih conferring the President's Scholarship award letters to 17 students who attained the highest results in the GCE Advanced Level examinations.

Further, FL Fazna also conferred scholarship award letters to 18 of the 138 High Achievers' Scholarship recipients.