Avid College penalised as MQA uncovers repeated issuance of certificates without proper registration

The Maldives Qualifications Authority (MQA) has fined Avid College for issuing certificates to students who were not registered with the institution.

The authority said the college had earlier this year awarded certificates to Sri Lankan students who were not formally registered with Avid College.

Today, the MQA said it had since come to its attention that the college had again issued certificates to students who had not completed the required registration. The authority said Avid College has been ordered not to repeat the violation, and that the fine was imposed on the advice of the MQA Advisory Board.

The MQA noted that conducting any programme in violation of its programme accreditation rules, including the rules governing the delivery of accredited programmes abroad, is strictly prohibited. Such actions, the authority warned, risk undermining international confidence in the quality of Maldives’ higher education sector and may lead to questions over the validity of degrees issued by Maldivian institutions.

ނޫސް ބަޔާން: އެވިޑް ކޮލެޖުގައި ރަޖިސްޓަރީ ނުކޮށް، ދަރިވަރުން ތަކަކަށް ސަނަދު ދޫކުރުމާ ގުޅޭ؛https://t.co/7Rz12gHnaY@MoHEmv @MoEdumv pic.twitter.com/AVvu5fli1o

— Maldives Qualifications Authority (@mqamaldives) June 21, 2026

The authority urged the public and educational institutions to verify through its website whether a programme is approved before participating in or delivering any course.

Avid College was advised in early January this year for running programmes in Sri Lanka in violation of the accreditation issued by the MQA.

The MQA had at the time said that some programmes approved by Avid College, completed at Amazon College and Alzette University in Sri Lanka, had been submitted to the authority for verification of the validity of the Avid College degrees obtained by graduates.

It is noteworthy that a case of Avid College advertising courses against MQA accreditation surfaced on December 29, 2022. The college had then said it does not offer any course that is not accredited by the MQA.