Abstract
Financing of higher education around the world are undergoing changes. Student financing is also being affected, the grants are being replaced with student loans. This trend can also be seen in the Maldives, where there is a move towards cost sharing in higher education. Many countries have implemented student loan schemes based on economical and social rationales. However, many student loans around the world are implemented with poor planning and for this reason many student loan schemes are resulting in high repayment defaults and finally in the abandonment of the schemes.
The main purpose of this study was to investigate if the Maldives has the capacity to successfully implement a student loan scheme. Four research questions addressed the research aim. They were: What are the rationales behind establishing a student loan scheme in the Maldives? What are the conditions which need to be present in the Maldives, for a student loan scheme to work successfully? What are the challenges the Maldives will face when implementing a student loan scheme? And what are the strategies which could resolve these challenges?