President: Future of Maldives is bright; will provide opportunities for an educated generation

President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has pledged to offer greater opportunities for a generation of educated youths, stressing that the future of Maldives looks “extremely bright”.

In a campaign rally in M. Maduvvari on Sunday, President Solih said he accords the same importance to building human resources, as he gives to running infrastructure development projects.

“The future of Maldives is extremely bright. We have some very promising children. What we are doing is to have them return here and take this nation to new heights,” he said.

He said that offering greater opportunities to the youth is crucial to building a “safe and happy” Maldives.

The president said that as part of efforts to develop schools, he has:

• Built 1,578 new classrooms in schools across Maldives
• Built 85 multi-purpose halls in schools across Maldives

“You see, we are conducting projects of the magnitude you will not see in the next 10-15 years. We want to complete the projects we have started, to have the students we are building return to Maldives, and create job opportunities for them,” he said.

President Solih said there are 17,858 students receiving their education through the government’s “free degree” program, and that they will join the workforce once they complete their education.

6,540 students have already completed their higher education through the program, he added.

As part of other educational initiatives by the government:

• Over 3,000 students are studying overseas with student loans
• 1,265 students are studying overseas on government scholarships

President Solih said that he was already fulfilling the needs of the residents of Maduvvari, and would address more concerns if re-elected.

Speaking at the rally, Dhiggaru MP Ikram Hassan expressed confidence the president will secure a landslide victory in Maduvvari. He shared two developmental needs of the residents of the island with the president. They are:

• Construction of an outdoor volleyball court
• Expedition of the development of a modern waste management facility

Noting that the water and sanitation projects are near completion in Maduvvari, Ikram said the residents of the island will learn what it means to be “clean and developed” in the coming month.