The National Development and Heritage Committee of the People's Majlis has passed a bill amending the "Maldives Higher Education and Training Act" to reduce the period after which a college can obtain university status to 15 years of operation.

This bill was submitted to the Majlis by PNC's Maafannu South constituency member Abdullah Rifau in his personal capacity.

According to the bill, its purpose is to review and amend the conditions for operating a university in the Maldives as specified in the law, in order to further open the door to higher education and provide opportunities for entities with resources and capabilities to provide university education in the Maldives.

The current law stipulates that to be registered as a university, an institution must have been operating continuously as a college in the Maldives for 20 years.

However, the amendment passed yesterday by the National Development and Heritage Committee of the Majlis has reduced this period to 15 years.

The bill also includes seven additional conditions that a college must meet when applying to be converted to a university.

These include running the college's own or external programs in at least three fields at Maldives National Qualification Framework Level 7 and Level 9; having at least 1,000 students studying in courses from Level 7 and above; being a college that has participated in and been rated or ranked in an international university rating or ranking; and being a college with at least five years of experience in running university programs.

Additionally, the conditions include having at least 10 percent of academic staff teaching academic programs with PhDs, and having resources established in the college that meet the standards set by the Ministry and are suitable for running a university.