Courses Offered by Unregistered Institutions Will Not Be Recognised, Warns MQA

The Maldives Qualification Authority (MQA) has warned that the courses offered by higher education and training institutions will not be accepted unless they are registered with the authority’s new register.

Although a Higher Education Institution’s Register existed previously, the Ministry of Higher Education, Labour and Skills Development initiated efforts to compile a new register after the current government assumed office in November 2023. Under the Higher Education and Training Law, MQA only recognises certificates issued by centres registered under the Act.

According to MQA, despite the large number of registered institutions in the previous register, many institutions are yet to comply with the new re-registration requirements. Noting that of the institutions listed in the old register, 101 centres still need to re-register, MQA made it clear that courses offered by these institutions will not be recognised if they remain unregistered.

The MQA has also published the list of institutions previously registered with the MQA but are yet to re-register. MQA clarified that the certificates of students who have completed courses at these institutions and has applied for batch auditing will still be recognised.