Colleges with 15 years of operations can apply for university status
A college seeking university status must have operated continuously in the Maldives for at least 15 years and have at least 1,000 students enrolled.
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Colleges that have operated continuously in the Maldives for at least 15 years will be able to seek university status under new regulations governing the registration and operation of universities.
The regulations, titled the Regulation on the Registration and Operation of Universities in the Maldives, were gazetted on Saturday following amendments to the Maldives Higher Education and Training Act.
The amendment to the law, ratified by President Mohamed Muizzu in November 2025, revised the criteria for establishing universities in the Maldives and created a pathway for qualifying colleges to become universities.
Under the regulations, a college seeking university status must have operated continuously in the Maldives for at least 15 years and have at least 1,000 students enrolled.
The institution must also offer higher education programmes in different fields, including programmes across at least three fields between Levels 7 and 9 of the Maldives National Qualifications Framework.
Other requirements include being rated or ranked under an international university rating or ranking system and having experience conducting research of an international standard in collaboration with foreign universities or organisations.
The college must also employ staff with PhD-level qualifications and have the infrastructure and resources required to operate as a university.
The regulations follow amendments to the Higher Education and Training Act that attracted criticism from some education professionals during the legislative process.
Maldives Qualifications Authority (MQA) Chief Executive Officer Mariyam Fizana Rasheed previously said that while the amendment would allow institutions operating as colleges for 15 years to seek university status, she did not believe there was a college in the Maldives that currently met the requirements necessary for that status.
She also expressed concern that recommendations submitted by MQA and other stakeholders during the legislative process had not been reflected in the final amendment.
Educationist and Mandhu College Chairman Ibrahim Ismail, known as Ibra, has also criticised the changes.
Some opposition politicians and education professionals have alleged that the changes were designed to facilitate university status for Villa College, founded by businessman Qasim Ibrahim. The government has not characterised the amendment in those terms.
Ibrahim Ismail has made a similar allegation, arguing that the criteria were structured to enable Villa College to become a university while making it difficult for other institutions to qualify.
He has also criticised the legislative process, noting that the Higher Education Ministry itself raised objections to aspects of the proposal during consideration by a parliamentary committee.
The 2025 amendment states that an institution seeking registration as a university must either have operated as a local college continuously for at least 15 years or have operated as a university overseas for at least 10 years.
The new regulations establish the procedures for registering, operating and closing universities in the Maldives.
Applications for university status will be assessed by a technical committee established by the ministry. The committee will review the proposal, supporting documents and evidence before preparing an assessment report.
The committee must have at least five members, including two higher education professionals, a senior ministry official, a senior MQA official and a member with expertise in finance.
A college converted into a university will become an independent legal entity with a separate and continuing legal personality in accordance with the regulations.
The registration fee for a university or its campus is MVR 100,000. Registering an additional campus or changing an existing campus will carry a fee of MVR 15,000.
The Higher Education and Training Act, first ratified in 2021, provides the legal framework governing higher education and training in the Maldives, including the registration and operation of higher education institutions.
