Education Ministry not negligent in compensating Mandhu College

Civil Court, on Wednesday, delivered its ruling in the case filed over the Ministry of Education’s compensation for the operator of Mandhu College, Male’ High Private Limited.

Civil Court ordered Education Ministry to pay MVR 15 million within one month to Mandhu College as compensation for the unlawful termination of the agreement which allowed them to operate out of the former MES building, on April 19, 2021.

Following the Supreme Court ruling on February 28, Male’ High lodged a case with the Civil Court, suing the State for MVR 18 million as compensation. The State settled during dispute resolution on MVR 15 million, and the Civil Court ordered the State to pay MVR 15 million to Male’ High within one month.

Male’ Hight Pvt Ltd later filed a case at the Civil Court claiming negligence over the late payment of MVR 15 million owed to Mandhu College by the Education Ministry. They noted that payment was made after the timeframe given to the Ministry by the Civil Court.

Notably, an assessment done by the Auditor General’s Office at the request of the Education Ministry shows Male’ High Pvt. Ltd is entitled to no more than MVR 1.5 million as compensation.

The report, signed by Auditor General Hassan Ziyath, recommends two compensation options. First was MVR 1.27 million compensation. The figure was reached by calculating MVR 100,580 as compensation for Mandhu College’s assets and inventory in the building, and MVR 1.18 million as compensation for Mandhu College’s investment in the building.

The second option was an MVR 1.58 million compensation. The figure was reached by calculating MVR 166,599 as compensation for Mandhu College’s assets and inventory in the building, and MVR 1.41 million as compensation for Mandhu College’s investment in the building.

“Even in the event that the termination of the agreement is declared to be in breach of the agreement, we find the maximum financial compensation the company is entitled to, to be within the range of MVR 1.27 million to MVR 1.58 million,” reads the report.