The Maldives National University, a Beacon for Academic Enlightenment – Vice President

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony of the Maldives National University, today, Vice President Dr Mohamed Waheed has urged to make the Maldives National University a symbol of academic enlightenment in the country.

In his remarks at the ceremony held at Dharubaaruge this morning, he spoke on the significance of ensuring freedom of knowledge in establishing the Maldives National University as a centre for educational enlightenment.

Insisting that the university should have the freedom to create, learn and disperse knowledge in order to achieve academic excellence, he said it was timely that the first university in the country was being set up in a democratic environment.

The Vice President also highlighted the importance of nourishing an educational environment independent of undue political influence for the proper functioning of the university.

However, he acknowledged that it was inevitable that the university would be affected by the prevailing socio-political and economic factors in the country.

In this regard, the Vice President noted that the progress of the university would be shaped by constantly evolving Maldivian society along with the progress of democracy, human rights, technology and climate change.

Therefore, he said the responsibility of the university would be researching, finding and disseminating information on democracy, human rights, technology and environment in Maldivian society.

In his address, the Vice President outlined the steps essential to make the Maldives National University a centre of academic excellence.

These include providing attractive incentives to highly qualified people in the country to work at the institution.

He said the university should offer scholarships to the best local students to study at the university and create a vibrant environment in the university.

The Vice President also said the Maldives National University should focus on research and development in areas such as climate change, marine and maritime studies, tourism and hospitality studies, and Islam and democracy, in which the Maldives had comparative advantage.