Transforming Education in the Maldives · The Republic of the Maldives is an archipelago in the South Asia region. It is a highly dispersed country made up of 188 inhabited islands

Transforming Education in the Maldives

The Challenges of a Small Island Developing State

Rhonda Di Biase and Ahmed Ali Maniku

ContentsIntroduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2Education in the Maldives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

History of Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6The Legal Framework for Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7Current Structure of the Education System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8Challenges of the Current Education System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Improving the Quality of Education: Innovation and Reform . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15Curriculum and Pedagogical Reform . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18Implementing Classroom Reform: Challenges and Opportunities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20Recent Policy Initiatives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21Education in Small Island States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Cross-References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

AbstractThe Republic of the Maldives is an archipelago in the South Asia region. It is ahighly dispersed country made up of 188 inhabited islands and 105 tourist resortislands. The geographic and demographic features have implications for educa-tion across the Maldivian education system. There are particular challenges interms of the delivery of education across the country in providing equitable accessto education and improving the quality of education. There is disparity acrossislands depending on factors such as employment opportunities for island

R. Di Biase (*)Melbourne Graduate School of Education, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC,Australiae-mail: [email protected]

A. A. ManikuIndependent Education and Training Consultant, Malé, Maldivese-mail: [email protected]

© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2020P. M. Sarangapani, R. Pappu (eds.), Handbook of Education Systems in South Asia,Global Education Systems, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-3309-5_14-1

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populations and access to a qualified and motivated teaching workforce. Recentreforms have been designed to address the need to improve the quality ofeducation. A new national curriculum began its implementation in 2015. This isan outcomes-based curriculum, promoting a holistic approach to education, and isalso underpinned by pedagogical reform, promoting learner-centered education incontrast to a transmission pedagogical approach which is prevalent across thecountry. Attention to increasing the use of technology in schools is another majorinitiative explicitly addressed through the roll out of the school tablet programwhich began in 2018. Underpinning recent reform is an explicit focus on inclu-sive education through a specially targeted policy. A focus on results fromexternal O- and A-level examinations features strongly in discussion aroundquality and the implications within the broader system. There has been growthin technical and vocational education opportunities through this alternative cer-tificate pathway. In confronting many challenges, the Maldivian education systemhas shown itself to be open to reform and responsive to the evolving needs withinthis small state.

KeywordsSmall island developing state · Island schools · Curriculum reform · Quality ofeducation · Teacher shortage · Pedagogical reform

Introduction

In the early 1980s, the Maldives was one of the world’s 20 poorest countries, with apopulation of 156,000. In 2012, with a population of more than 300,000, it is a middle-income country with a per capita income of over $6,300. The country has impressiveimprovements in health and education with a life expectancy of 74.8 and a literacy rate98.4%. However, the country faces challenges in environmental sustainability, policyuncertainty and service delivery. (The World Bank 2013, p.1)

The Maldives archipelago is made up of 1192 islands, formed into 26 naturallyoccurring atolls, located in the Indian Ocean close to Sri Lanka and India. Theislands are spread 823 km from north to south and 130 km from east to west. Thetotal area of the Maldives is 90,000 square kilometers, of which 99% is water.Consequently, land is a scarce resource with a land area of just 290 square kilome-ters. There are 188 inhabited islands, 105 resort islands, and 34 industrial islands.The majority of islands are small, averaging 0.7 km2 with only nine being larger than2 km2 (UNDP 2014). The average ground level elevation of the islands is 1.5 mabove sea level. The population of the country, as enumerated in Census 2014, was407,6601 (NBS 2015). Out of this total population, over 63,000 are expatriate

1Based on United Nations estimates, the population of Maldives in November 2018 has risen to444,944 (http://www.worldometers.info/world-population/maldives-population/. Retrieved 7thNovember 2018.)

2 R. Di Biase and A. A. Maniku

http://www.worldometers.info/world-population/maldives-population/

workers. Approximately a third of the population resides in the capital, Malé, anisland of approximately 2.2 square kilometers, thereby making it one of the mostdensely populated capital cities in the world. In contrast, 72 inhabited islands have

Fig. 1 Inhabited Maldivian islands. (Source: Rhonda Di Biase)

Transforming Education in the Maldives 3

populations of less than 1000, and only 4 islands have populations over 5000. Figure1 provides an illustration of two inhabited islands.

A newly created island through reclamation of part of the lagoon of the interna-tional airport, has now become an attractive suburb of Malé. This island, namedHulhumalé, is considered a part of the greater Malé region and accommodates over50,000 people. By September 2018, the city of Malé was linked to Hulhumalé via anewly constructed bridge across the channel. These developments coupled withambitious housing infrastructure projects in Hulhumalé are expected to increasethe internal migration from the atolls to the greater Malé region.

The Maldives is referred to as a small state and in particular a small islanddeveloping state (SIDS). Small states face particular challenges such as limitedhuman and natural resources, environmental threats, remoteness, and a highlydispersed population. Most of the population lives “in very small island communitiesdistant from each other and from the Republic’s capital, Malé” (Faber 1992, p.124).Maldivians living in these dispersed island communities have traditionally exhibiteda strong community orientation and hold a deep-seated connection with the island oftheir birth (UNDP 2014). Isolation is a challenge for many island populations givingrise to various levels of peripherality. Typically in archipelagos the power of thecapital “can become overwhelmingly dominant” (Royle 2001, p. 48) resulting insignificant variations in the economies and lifestyles of different islands.

Small states tend to rely on one or two main products or services for income,making them particularly vulnerable and excessively dependent on external events.The Maldives economy is heavily reliant on tourism, and it is the income fromtourism that has driven its impressive economic development. Yet there are strongregional disparities resulting from varying levels of tourism development withindifferent atolls. Significant variations in the economies and lifestyles of differentislands depend on proximity to the capital, tourism, and employment opportunities.The reliance on tourism makes the country vulnerable to world events such as the2004 tsunami and the 2007 global financial crisis that severely affected touristnumbers.

The 2004 Boxing Day tsunami led to high levels of internal displacement withonly eight inhabited islands being unaffected (Fulu 2007). There was severe damageto houses, resorts, schools, and other key infrastructures. Two thirds of GDP waswashed away in a few minutes (UNDP 2014). The Maldives was set to graduatefrom less-developed country (LDC) status to the middle-income group in 2005, butthis was delayed due to the effects of the tsunami. This transition finally took place in2011, resulting in a decline in foreign aid.

Damage and resulting implications for the education sector from the 2004tsunami were vast. When the tsunami struck, schools were closed for the annualholidays. According to an assessment undertaken by UNICEF, “9 schools werecompletely destroyed; 31 suffered heavy damage to structures, toilets, boundarywalls, furniture and equipment; 24 suffered damage to lesser degree in all theseareas; 52 suffered damage to boundary walls and sustained 10 percent loss offurniture and teaching materials; and 199 schools were unaffected” (UNICEF2006b, p. 48). In addition to being internally displaced, almost 30,000 students


lost books, school uniforms, and other supplies that their families could not readilyreplace. A major campaign of “back-to-school” was launched. With significant andmassive efforts led by the government and with support from UNICEF, the start ofthe school year in January 2005 was delayed by only 2 weeks, and schools reopenedon January 25, 2005.

More recently, the economic growth of the country has been strong, with average6% growth in the past 5 years. Strong performance in the tourism sector and higherinvestments in the construction sector have driven the Maldives economy. Tourismcontributes around 22% to the GDP, while construction combined with real estatecontributes over 14% to the GDP (NBS 2018). Other main industries that contributeto the economy include transportation and telecommunications (12.1%) and whole-sale and retail trade (9.2%).

In 2008, the country held its first democratic elections after the 30-year presi-dency of Maumoon Abdul Gayoom. The first democratically elected president wasMohamed Nasheed from the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP). Since his electionin 2008, there have been two other presidents in what has become a highly politi-cized environment. This succession of leaders has meant there have been clearchanges in policy direction where incoming presidents have frequently reversedpolicies of the previous government (Ali 2017). The Maldives completed its thirdmultiparty presidential elections in which the current government lost office and thecoalition of opposition parties assumed office on November 17, 2018.

Education in the Maldives

Education is highly regarded in the Maldives (MOE 2008), and according to Latheefand Gupta (2007, p. 118), it is the “strong and abiding commitment to educationwhich has enabled Maldives to make very significant progress during the last decadeto the goals it had set itself despite all the natural difficulties.”While there have beenimpressive gains in access to education and the high adult literacy rate which reached98% by the year 2014, serious challenges remain. A narrow economic base meansfunding for education consumed 13.1% of national budget in 2013, 12.2% in 2014and 12.0% in 2015 (People’s Majlis (Maldives Parliament) 2014). The scatteredisland geography makes it expensive and logistically complex to deliver services andprovide equitable education opportunities across the country (UNDP 2014). There isalso recognition of an urgent need to improve the quality of both primary andsecondary education. Recent reports reveal that the education system is not able toproduce enough graduates to meet the demand for skilled workers (The World Bank2014; UNDP 2014).

As in other small states, the Maldivian education system faces particular chal-lenges. A limited human resource base, means there is a lack of trained teachers. Thishas resulted in a reliance on foreign workers, namely, expatriate teachers from otherSouth Asian countries who generally teach secondary grades. The particular geo-graphical and demographic features of the Maldives pose further challenges inproviding equitable education resources across the country. Services are heavily


concentrated in the capital. Hence, Malé schools have better teaching facilities andhigher numbers of trained teachers compared to island schools, which typically facea higher concentration of untrained teachers. The isolation of island schools alsomeans in-service training has traditionally been provided to teachers in short,intensive blocks often by visiting trainers, thereby limiting opportunities for ongoingin-school support.

History of Education

The system of education in the Maldives has developed from basic informal educa-tion offered in people’s homes, known as edhurge to a nationwide system ofgovernment schooling accessible on every inhabited island. The edhurge traditionalsystem was the responsibility of religious leaders. It catered for children between 3and 15 years, who attended in people’s homes to learn the Dhivehi language andArabic script and to recite the Holy Quran. It aided the preservation of nationalculture and traditions and contributed to the high literacy rate in the country (MOE2008).

Changes became evident from 1927 when the first government school wasestablished in Malé for boys. The school system expanded so that by 1945 eachisland had a school, known as a makthab which provided free lower primaryschooling. These schools were operated and financed by the island administration.Further changes were evident from the 1950s where education was seen to play arole in the country’s national development. During this period madhrasas wereestablished, and they provided a slightly broader curriculum than the makthabs.The 1950s’ period also witnessed the establishment of Atholhu Madharusa or atollschools in the capital island of every atoll where the medium of instruction was in thelocal language, Dhivehi. These were schools run by the atoll office and enrolledacademically outstanding students from within the entire atoll (MOE 1981). Thestudents selected by island administration were provided with food supplies by therespective island office. The atoll office would organize accommodation of studentsin houses of well-to-do people, while the students’ parents could also contributewhatever they could afford. These atoll schools, of the past, provided education forsuccessful students to fill key functions of administration and leadership on theislands (MOE 1981). Some of the most academically outstanding students were alsoprovided with education opportunities in Malé (MOE 1985).

In Malé, formal school was established in the community wards, one in each ofthe four wards. These schools were administered by the ward authorities, and theycatered for the top level students (MOE 1985). A school that catered to a moreadvanced level than these community ward schools, called Saniyya, was opened in1927 and initially operated for boys. However, classes were organized andconducted for girls in the evenings. The curriculum consisted of Islamic subjects,Mathematics, History, Geography, Health, Dhivehi (Maldivian Language), Arabic,and Urdu. In 1944 this school developed into two separate wings “MajeediyyaSchool” for boys and “Aminiya School” for girls, both teaching secondary levels.


Aminiya and Majeediyya continued as the elite schools in the country well into the1990s.

The administration of the four community ward schools in Malé was taken overby the government in 1958. This could be considered a turning point in the evolutionof the education system as it effectively brought an end to community involvementin education in Malé. Three of these schools were converted into English-mediumschools in 1961, and the other one was abolished. These changes introducedEnglish-medium education, notably through Majeediyya and Aminiya schools,one for boys and one for girls, respectively. The third school, a Montessori School,catered to the kindergarten stage of education in Malé. The primary and secondaryEnglish medium system was based on the British curriculum. This meant a dualsystem was evolving – English-medium schools in Malé and traditional Dhivehi-medium schools in the atolls, changing the educational landscape of the country. Theaim of this development was to prepare students up to General Certificate ofEducation (GCE) Level qualifications. By 1978 there was an attempt to unify thesystem and distribute resources more equitably across the nation by establishing anAtoll Education Centre (EC) and an atoll school (AS) to foster education across eachatoll. Moreover, schools in the atolls began to adopt English as the medium ofinstruction, although local language was still used in some subjects such as Islam andDhivehi subjects. Primary and middle school education was available across thecountry although a lack of qualified teachers and basic infrastructure was a constraintfor island schools. Other often smaller islands, where secondary education was notavailable, were often the islands that suffered a shortage of teachers. Teachers fromSri Lanka were brought to the country to address the shortage of English languageteachers.

Islands can face a vicious cycle in terms of education outcomes. Since Maldivianshave a strong connection to the island of their birth (UNDP 2014), trained teacherstend to return to their islands to teach. As such, schools with students who achievestrong academic outcomes usually have more qualified teachers, while schoolswhose students do not meet the entry criteria usually end up with less qualifiedteachers. As noted by Ahmed (1994, p.29), “almost all atolls have ‘richer’ and‘poorer’ types of schools created by this process” resulting in a self-perpetuatingcycle for island communities.

The Legal Framework for Education

State and local communities have been involved in the provision of education inMaldives for several centuries. The degree and level of involvement have variedover time. Historical records indicate that several centuries ago, royal decrees werepassed and sent around the atolls to bring about compulsory basic education (MOE1985). The degree of success in the enforcement of such pronouncements under-standably varied, in this widely dispersed archipelagic nation.

Maldives gained its first Constitution in 1932. This historical milestone assignedformal responsibility for the provision of basic education to the government.


Nevertheless, the coverage of state educational activities and the support to localcommunity efforts were limited especially in the atolls until late 1970s. The Con-stitution of the country was revised in 2008. The new and forward-looking Consti-tution, which enshrined a number of fundamental rights of citizens, prescribes thateveryone has the right to education without discrimination. It mandates the state toprovide free primary and middle school education and stipulates the provision ofaccess to higher levels of education as outlined in the Constitution of the Maldives in2008. Legal requirements for education also stem from the ratification of theConvention on the Rights of the Child in 1991, the enactment of the Law on theProtection of the Rights of the Child in the same year, with an amendment in 2014.

Under the new Constitution of 2008, several new laws were passed by theparliament. The ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons withDisabilities (2010), complemented by the passage of the Disabilities Act (2010),has brought about implications for the delivery of education in the country. Theinclusive education policy prepared and adopted by the Ministry of Education in2013 promotes and facilitates the education provision for children with disabilitiesacross the country. The Local Governance Act passed and ratified in 2010 alsorequires the local councils to organize and conduct education and vocational trainingprograms for adults. However, the implementation of this requirement is verylimited. The Preschool Act passed and ratified in 2012 is one that has broughtabout a number of statutory requirements upon the Ministry of Education for thislevel of schooling. In addition to the Acts of Parliament, the President is alsoempowered by the Constitution to issue decrees (or policy directives) to the educa-tion sector. To date, there is no specific Education Act in the Maldives. Instead theabovementioned Constitutional provisions, acts, and presidential decrees provide thelegal framework for the conduct of educational affairs in the Maldives.

Current Structure of the Education System

Across the country there are four types of schools: government, community schools,public-private partnership schools, and private schools. Of the 375 schools in thecountry, 82% of students attend 212 government schools (MOE 2017b). Schoolingis organized across four levels: preschool, primary, lower secondary, and highersecondary as shown in Fig. 2.

Since 2016, preschool has become a part of the formal education system. Formaleducation begins at the age of 4 with a structure of 2 years of preschool, 7 years ofprimary school, 3 years of lower secondary, and 2 years of higher secondary.Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) programs are also offeredthrough the secondary education system and through higher education programs incolleges and universities (Fig. 2).

Preschool EducationPreschools were operated in the Maldives in the non-government/private and com-munity sector until 2015. These private preschools are owned and operated by a


private individual or an organization. Community schools were managed by theisland or a ward community by raising contributions and/or donations. The IslandChief’s office, which was a government entity, managed the schools on behalf of thecommunity. The Ministry of Education provided assistance to community schoolsthrough the supply of some teachers and funds to meet partial costs foradministration.

Through an executive policy decision, at the beginning of 2016, the upperkindergarten and lower kindergarten classes of preschools have been incorporatedinto the mandate of the MOE. This decision has come about under the policy ofproviding 14 years of free schooling from kindergarten to high school (K-12) duringPresident Yameen’s administration (2013–2018). With this decision, the existinggovernment primary and secondary schools accommodated the preschool classes inall the islands except in Malé where preschools remained as community wardschools. Changes were brought about to the physical facilities and furniture to suitthe lower age group of students. In preparation for this transfer of preschool classesto government schools, the Ministry spent substantially to bring about the necessarychanges to physical facilities, purchase of appropriate furniture, and learningresources suitable for kindergarten age group of students. Hence, the transfer wasgenerally smooth, though in some cases staff who had no exposure and experience atthis level of schooling found themselves in charge of the preschool department. In2017 at the pre-primary level, there were 1352 teachers in the whole country, out ofwhich 12.9% (or 174) were untrained (MOE 2012).

Primary and Secondary EducationEvery island has at least one primary school, so no one is denied access to schooling.The basic education cycle is made up of grades 1–7. This can be organized intoprimary generalist grades, typically grades 1–5 and upper primary grades taught bysubject teachers, very much like a middle school model. The secondary classes are

Higher Education and TVET:National University + Colleges + Polytechnic

Higher Secondary: Grades 11 to 12 + TVET in schools

Lower Secondary: Grades 8 to 10+ TVET in Schools

Primary school: Grades 1 to 7

Pre-primary – Foundation Stage: 2 yearsLower Kindergarten (LKG) Upper Kindergarten

(UKG)

National Exams:Grade 10 (O Level + IGCSE + SSC exams)

National Exams:Grade 12 (A Level + HSC exams)

Fig. 2 Structure of the Maldivian education system, 2018. (Figure composed by authors based oninformation gathered from Ministry of Education)


divided into lower secondary which follow the British system of O- and A-levelexaminations. Lower secondary students prepare for the International General Cer-tificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) examination in six subjects, including twolocal subjects (Islam and Dhivehi). At the end of higher secondary school, studentssit the General Certificate of Education Advanced Level examination which has beenadministered by Edexcel.

Since 2008 there has been an expansion of secondary schools across the atolls sothat education was available in all island schools up to grade 10. Higher secondaryeducation is available in 7 schools in Malé and in only 45 schools in the atolls (of atotal of 212 government atoll schools). Where there are insufficient facilities tohouse all classes at one time, schools may operate in two teaching sessions [morningand afternoon] in which classrooms are shared over the day. During the MDPgovernment from November 2008 to February 2012, there was a program to supportthe building of new classrooms with the goal of single session schools across allislands. This is again a priority of the government elected in 2018. The averagestudent/teacher ratio across all levels of schooling is 9:1, while it varies between 16:1in pre-primary and 6:1 at the lower secondary grades (MOE 2017b) in an effort toprovide wider subject choice.

Challenges of the Current Education System

The country has seen an expansion in the availability of schooling through theincreasing provision of education opportunities on each island. Achieving universalprimary education (UPE) has been a major objective as the education system hasevolved. Even with the pressures of one third of the population being of school age,the goal of UPE was achieved in 2002 (UNDP 2014).

Despite the success of achieving UPE, education challenges in this small state arecaptured in the first paragraph of a World Bank report (Aturupane and Shojo 2012, p.1):

The country achieved the first-generation objective of providing universal access to basiceducation through rapid expansion of enrolment. . .the second-generation challenge is toprovide education of adequate quality. Evidence, from a variety of sources, shows thateducation quality in the Maldives is weak, and needs urgent attention.

A fundamental challenge in the Maldives has been managing quantitative expansionin this highly dispersed country while also focusing on improving the quality ofeducation. As noted, “an urgent need now exists to improve the quality of bothprimary and secondary education” (UNDP 2014, p.73).

Enrollment, Attendance, and CompletionIn achieving UPE in 2002, the Maldives achieved the Education for All (EFA)/Millennium Development Goal (MDG) targets for primary education well ahead ofthe target dates. This was achieved with no significant gender disparity. The primary


net enrolment rate (NER) for 2017 was 108.4% with 107.1% for females and109.6% for males.2 The NER at the lower secondary level was 88.6% with 91.6%% for females and 85.4% for males. The secondary gross enrolment ratio (GER) hasreached over 100%. Details of enrolment figures can be found in Fig. 3.

With increased coverage and participation rates in primary and secondary educa-tion, the Maldives has placed a greater emphasis on addressing quality and equityissues within education. Although there have been impressive achievements inprimary and secondary level enrolment, the system shows a sharp drop in the highersecondary stage with students either not having easy access to higher secondaryschooling or choose not to sit for A-level examinations. The GER for highersecondary education was 33.4% in 2016 increasing to 37.2% in 2017. The NERfor this stage was 16% in 2016, with 19.2% for females and 13.1% for males. In2017, the NER for higher secondary was 31.2% with 35.9% for females and 26.8%for males.

Access to higher secondary education has been expanding both in Malé and theatolls in recent years. The achievement at the end of lower secondary level has alsobeen progressively improving over the last 10 years. Despite these improvements inthe system, the NER of higher secondary stage is still low. The rate of transition fromlower secondary to higher secondary education also continues to be low at 38.4% for2017 (MOE 2017b).

Educational AttainmentA number of reports indicate that educational outcomes are in need of improvement.For example, a recent UNICEF report found “the level of learning of Maldivianstudents is lower than the average international levels as represented by reputedinternational studies” (UNICEF 2014, p. 1). It also highlighted that Maldivianstudents did not do well on questions involving deeper conceptual understandingbut performed better on questions of basic competency and on application of pro-cedures and the recall of facts. The report noted there were several areas where basicmisconceptions persist into higher grades. Other reports similarly stated that resultsin national assessments are unsatisfactory (Aturupane and Shojo 2012; UNDP2014).

These findings from international agencies have more recently been substantiatedby reports published by the Ministry of Education. The report of National Assess-ment of Learning Outcomes (NALO), published in 2017, provides valuable infor-mation regarding performance of students at atoll, school, and national levels andalso performance of individual students (QAD 2017). The NALO was conductedthrough support from a 5-year project of the World Bank and the government. Thisnational assessment was completed in three key subjects of Dhivehi, English, andMathematics at grades 4 and 7 across a sample of Maldivian public schools. Results

2According to the MOE, the NER is above 100% due to the use of estimated age-specific populationfigures from the National Bureau of Statistics and data duplication issues from schools.


Fig.3

Enrolmentlevelsin

theMaldives(200

5–20

17).(Sou

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Edu

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n20

17(M

OE20

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of the 2016 assessment showed modest achievement although notable differenceswere found across atolls and gender disparities were noted (QAD 2017).

Consistent concerns are also raised with O- and A-level results. The pass rate,reflecting a pass in five subjects, was 36% in 2011 (UNDP 2014). In 2012, a WorldBank report pointed to the high failure rates revealing that two of every threestudents did not pass these examinations (Aturupane and Shojo 2012). Moreoverthe figures documented that 19% and 16% of students in 2010 and 2011 respectivelydid not achieve a pass in any subject (Aturupane and Shojo 2012). The MOE hascreated a specific policy to focus efforts on improving the pass rate (MOE 2010a),and there has been steady improvement in pass rates over time (Fig. 4). Subse-quently, there has been a steady increase in the percentage of students who passed infive or more subjects.

There is continuing discussion about the use of the British O- and A-levelexaminations in the system. Even as far back as 2001, Bray and Adam (2001)wrote about the various complexities around this issue for small states and outlinedalternative options for the Maldives that would reduce reliance on these externalexaminations, including developing a national certificate. However, the use of theseBritish examinations continues today with the O-level results being published foreach school as an accountability mechanism (MOE 2010a). Given the use of Englishas the medium of instruction in Malé over a longer period, some schools are betterpositioned for these examinations. The debate continues, although O- and A-levelexaminations are now well entrenched in the fabric of schooling in the country(Yamada et al. 2015).

Teacher DemographicsThe lack of trained teachers, noted earlier, has been a challenge for more remoteschools particularly in the atolls. This issue is perceived to be a major contributor tothe low attainment results (UNDP 2014). The recent introduction of a new salary

49 52 55.770

77

0

20

40

60

80

100

2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

% Pass in 5 or more subjects

Fig. 4 Percentage achievement rates for O-level examinations (2013–2017). (Source: Ministry ofEducation 2018)


structure for teachers without a diploma qualification has meant they were requiredto upgrade their qualification. Having achieved this target of upgrading all teacherqualifications in the school system to diploma level by end of 2016, a program tofurther upgrade teachers to first degree level has been underway since 2017. In 2017,out of all the teachers employed in the school system, 92% were trained to diplomalevel (Fig. 5). Teachers can qualify at a range of institutions. These programs areoverseen by the Maldives Qualification Authority to provide nationally standardizedqualifications. The framework consists of nine levels, from certificate level todoctoral degree, which sets minimum requirements, credits hours, and points foreach of the nine levels with all tertiary institutions in the country (Faiz 2007). TheFaculty of Education, part of the Maldives National University, is the largestinstitution to provide teacher education programs offering a range of diploma,degree, and postgraduate programs. There is an expanding range of institutionsoffering teacher education programs. The growth of these private colleges depictsthe expansion of breadth of qualifications indicating the growing demand within thecountry. As outlined earlier, there has been a reliance on foreign workers in thecountry, mostly expatriate teachers from other South Asian countries to meet theshortfall of teachers.

In 2017 approximately 23% of teachers were foreigners with over 80% of theseteachers working in atoll schools. This dependence on expatriate teachers is notwithout controversy (Aturupane and Shojo 2012). The high turnover of expatriateteachers places a higher cost burden on the system and a loss to students in schooldays (Aturupane and Shojo 2012; UNDP 2014). Other concerns are a lack ofcommitment to the Maldivian education system and the challenges arising fromworking in a different culture (Aturupane and Shojo 2012). There is a fear thatexpatriate teachers do not “engage sufficiently to understand the local curriculumand the cultural context and the quality of education may suffer as a consequence”(UNDP 2014, p.74). The Maldives is seen as a transit point for many foreignteachers seeking jobs in other countries (UNDP 2014). However, there are counter-arguments that expatriate teachers bring new ideas and cultural diversity to the

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1,565

321

32

591

1,263

281

0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000

Pre-Primary

Primary

L Secondary

H Secondary

Teachers Serving at Different Levels: Local and Expatriate, 2017

Expatriate Local

1,178

4,020

2,728

583174 440 100 19

0

1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

Pre-Primary Primary L Secondary H Secondary

Teachers Serving at Different Levels: Trained and Untrained, 2017

Trained Untrained

Fig. 5 Teacher demographics. (Source: Ministry of Education School Statistics, 2017)


education system and are willing to serve in remote schools where there areshortages of Maldivian teachers (Aturupane and Shojo 2012).

Disparity Between Malé and Atoll SchoolsInequalities exist despite the gains in access to schooling made across the country. Inorder to overcome barriers to schooling arising from family income, primary andsecondary schooling in government school is provided free, and from 2016 pre-school education, also has been free. Since 2008, all textbooks and learning mate-rials have been provided by the government, free of charge. This has led to sustainedhigh enrolments in education. The traditional disparities that existed between Maléschools and those of outlying islands in terms of human resources and materialresources have also been reduced in the recent past.

Disparities in education are mainly notable in the mean of years of schooling,higher secondary education enrolment, and quality of education. As noted in a UNreport, children in Malé complete almost 3 more years of schooling than children inatoll schools (UNDP 2014, p. 12). With the change of policy in 2015, to take chargeof preschool education also by the government, this gap is also believed to benarrowed now. While over 65% of primary and lower secondary enrolment are inthe atolls, nearly 60% of the higher secondary enrolment is concentrated in thecapital Malé (MoE 2017b). This is partly because of the limited availability of highersecondary facilities in the outer atolls and also due to the migration toward Malé,where facilities for this level of education are generally better.

The coverage of education facilities in the atolls is shown in Fig. 6. In 2017, therewere a total of 356 schools in the country, while only 38 or 11% were in Malé.However, nearly 36% of the total enrolment was in Malé. The vast number ofschools offering K-12 classes was government schools in 2017. There were 212schools, out of which 14 were in Malé and 198 were in the atolls in 2017. Thegovernment schools in Malé had a school enrolment of 19,172, which was nearly27% of total enrolment in all government schools. The distribution of schoolenrolment in the atolls and Malé is very wide as is expected due to the widedispersion of population. The challenge is provision of school facilities and distrib-uting these resources equally to all atolls and schools. For example, Vaavu Atoll isthe smallest atoll in terms of population. It has three schools with a total enrolment of331 students. In spite of this small population, the government has to support thesethree schools in order to provide schooling for the three different islands.

Improving the Quality of Education: Innovation and Reform

Improving the quality of education is a major policy challenge (Aturupane and Shojo2012). Low attainment in O- and A-level examinations is often at the center of thisdebate on improving quality. While current examination results are showing signs ofimprovement, they still show that many students are not able to achieve a pass and areby any measure poor. The strong focus on these exams results has also been questioned:


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An important aspect of the debate on education is related to the pedagogy of teaching and thehighly examination-oriented system that is followed, which leads to high competition amongschools to have their students ranked in the top ten positions in the Republic. It is argued thatoverall pass rates and performance of students are compromised, as attention gets focused onindividual top achievers for schools. (UNDP 2014, p.75)

There is a tension between the importance given to these results and the profile thatsuccessful individuals receive versus the need to improve the quality of education forall students and address the disparity of education opportunity for students in atollschools. When the foundation was laid for a unified system in 1978 and a unifiednational curriculum was introduced in 1984, implicit in these developments werethat education was no longer only for the elite in Malé. Providing equality ofopportunity across the nation is a strong feature of this debate.

The agenda to improve the quality of education has underpinned the drive toimprove the level of teacher qualifications, particularly in remote islands, and byoffering better in-service opportunities (Aturupane and Shojo 2012; MOE 2008).Yet, as highlighted by Alexander (2015), this can put the focus on teachers ratherthan teaching. Within this debate, he cites the focus on quantifiable measures ofquality, such as numbers of trained teachers, literacy rates, and net enrolment ratios(Alexander 2008, 2015) rather than the more elusive area of pedagogy. Notwith-standing the importance of qualified teachers, he also asks “but what are teachers toteach and how?” (Alexander 2015, p. 254).

Attending to teaching and learning in Maldivian classroom, Fittell (2014) wroteof the consistency of approach he saw across grades and islands in his role as ateacher educator. He reported that teachers worked from pre-planned schemes ofwork structured around fact-based topics with strong links to the textbook. Heobserved that teaching focused on students memorizing statements from the text-books, rather than promoting application of knowledge or understanding of topics.These observations are consistent with other reports about the dominance of atransmission model of teaching. For example, Shareef (2016) asserted that theemphasis is to “transmit effectively a body of knowledge to children.” The implica-tions of this approach to teaching were revealed in a UNICEF study (2014), whichfound that students performed better on questions based on recall of facts andperformed poorly on questions requiring conceptual understanding. The recommen-dations from this report raised the need for a campaign to “educate teachers, parentsand students to recognise the importance of learning with understanding” (UNICEF2014, p.7).

As Shareef (2016) reported, there is a lot of pressure exerted on schools to preparestudents for the O- and A-level examinations and that this pressure influences therange of teaching methods used. This view is supported by Adam et al. (2016) whoalso found that instructional methods were strongly influenced by a focus onmaximizing performance in tests. Teachers chose methods they believed wouldlead to examination success which leads to a prevailing pedagogy that relies onrote memorization and where students become passive recipients of information andwhere grades are emphasized over learning and understanding (Shiuna and Sodiq


2013). This traditional approach to teaching has withstood the tests of time.Mohamed (2006) recalls her own experience of school when observing a teachermany years later —“I watched as he taught the same lesson from the same textbookin the same way that I remembered him doing when I was a student in his class”(p.3). Both Nazeer (2006) and Adam et al. (2016) emphasize the limitations of thisapproach where students cram for examinations but quickly forget what they havelearnt, consistent with the findings outlined in the UNICEF study (UNICEF 2014).

Curriculum and Pedagogical Reform

In 2002, with support from UNICEF, the Child-Friendly Schools (CFS) project wasintroduced as an initiative to improve the quality of education. This is a globalframework that promotes local engagement while recognizing that adaptations willbe made in different contexts (Schweisfurth 2013; UNICEF 2006a, 2010). InMaldives, it began as a pilot project, with the objective of addressing disparitiesacross island schools and improving the quality of education in 22 underservedselected schools. Following the 2004 tsunami, in an effort to “build back better,”additional schools were funded to embrace the concept allowing a broader reach ofCFS across the country.

The introduction of CFS promoted the use of active learning and learner-centerededucation. As such there was greater emphasis on the varied needs of the learner.CFS was a major driver of pedagogical reform in the country and raised the profile ofactive learning within schools. In his evaluation of the CFS program, Shareef (2007,p.4) found that it has “made some contribution to the reform process of the educationsystem” by seeking to transform traditional teaching to more learner-centeredteaching. CFS, as a label, serves to both define a specific program and represent anemerging pedagogy in Maldivian schools.

While the focus of the CFS was typically on the lower primary grades (1–4), as away of managing limited resources, the goal was to scale up to all grades in allschools (McNair 2009). Notwithstanding the initial objectives of the project and thegrowth of CFS across the country, the policy context for implementing activelearning in the Maldives was embedded in broader reform developments, ratherthan being a clear policy statement in itself to promote pedagogical reform. McNair(2009, p. 6) claims that in the Maldives “there are few written policies, particularly inthe areas of school quality.” Following her report, the MOE introduced the Child-Friendly Baraabaru (“Baraabaru” literally means perfect. In this context, it means“effective,” as in effective schools) (CFBS) quality school indicators (MOE 2010b),as a way forward to acquire sector-wide support (UNICEF 2010). The CFBSdocument is aligned with the MOE goals for improving the quality of education(Aturupane and Shojo 2012; MOE 2008; UNDP 2014).

The CFBS indicators served as a quality assurance framework and were designedto facilitate an internal process of school self-assessment and external school eval-uation by authorities such as Educational Supervision and Quality ImprovementDivision (ESQID) against the indicators for each CFS dimension. This CFBS


document was revised in 2013 to simplify the hierarchy of indicators from fourlevels of achievement to single descriptors under each standard. This document hasnow been revised with the implementation of a new curriculum.

A major policy initiative and education reform is the implementation of a newNational Curriculum Framework (NCF) (NIE 2015). A major revision of the cur-riculum was undertaken in 2007 with a number of drafts of the new NCF. This is anoutcomes-based curriculum promoting a holistic approach to education and is alsounderpinned by constructivist “child-centered” learning (UNICEF 2010, p.16). It isstructured around eight key competencies and key learning areas and articulateseffective pedagogical dimensions (Fig. 7). The NCF is a reformulation in howcurriculum is envisaged and promotes major pedagogical change in the systemincluding changes in the way subjects are assessed (UNICEF 2010).

After several delays, the first stage of implementation began in 2015 for KeyStage 1 (grades 1–3). To integrate with the NCF, a new assessment policy wasformulated which emphasized the importance of formative assessment whichrequired a change in assessment foci from reliance on summative assessmenttasks, typically pen and paper tests. Concurrent changes were made to the reportcard format, with the intention of de-emphasizing a reliance on marks and insteadpromoting a system focused on using a range of evidence in an effort to promote“assessment for learning.”

Fig. 7 Map of the National Curriculum Framework. (Source: Ministry of Education 2015)


The NCF is a policy development that seeks to facilitate what Schweisfurth hascalled “an enabling framework” for classroom reform (Schweisfurth 2013, p. 150).Its integrated framework is a distinct and deliberate shift away from the fact-basedobjectives described by Fittell (2014) in the existing schemes of work. The keycompetencies and pedagogical dimensions in the NCF (see Fig. 7) are intended topromote wide-ranging classroom reform and greater range of pedagogicalapproaches, drawing on constructivist approaches to learning.

The CFBS indicators were integrated into a new school quality framework calledthe School Improvement, Quality Assurance and Accountability (SIQAA) Frame-work. The SIQAA Framework “fully adopted the existing CFBS quality standardsand indicators as the school quality assurance tool for monitoring and evaluation”(MOE 2014a, p. 15). This SIQAA Framework, implemented from 2016, is acomprehensive integrated approach to school-based accountability and qualityassurance to undertake continuous monitoring and improving performance in Mal-divian schools. This framework highlights the value of a structured cycle of self-evaluation, review, planning, and reporting (MoE 2017c) overseen by the QualityAssurance Division within the MOE.

Implementing Classroom Reform: Challenges and Opportunities

The goal of achieving learner-centered active learning, through the implementationof CFS, has not been without its challenges across the country. Wheatcroft (2004,p.14) reported in an evaluation of the 22 schools pilot project:

Teachers are not using active learning techniques but rely heavily on textbook work pageswhich indicates that they are not sufficiently trained in the methodology. Whilst the elementsof the model are in place, teachers are not yet equipped with the skills needed to make it achild centred, active learning environment.

This statement captures the situation regarding the CFS approach from the pilotproject through to the expansion phase across Maldivian schools. As Fittell (2014)observes in his role as a teacher educator across schools, teachers still rely heavily, ifnot exclusively, on the textbook. Reports on the CFS project reveal recurring themesin how active learning is being enacted and the challenges that teachers are facing inusing this new participatory, active learning pedagogy (Di Biase 2009; McNair2009; Shareef 2007).

The original model of CFS brought changes to classroom structures in primarygrades, within the target schools, particularly in the structure of the day and theinclusion of new elements such as creative writing and story time (Shareef 2007;Wheatcroft 2004). These changes in routines and structures emphasized greaterflexibility in the classroom and more freedom for students (Shareef 2011). Teacherswere found to follow the examples presented and were not creative and flexible instructuring the day to meet the needs of their students (Shareef 2007). Physicalchanges have been the most obvious changes observed (Di Biase 2009; McNair


2009; Shareef 2007; Wheatcroft 2004). Therefore, change has been most noticeablyon organizational changes rather than attitudinal changes, resulting in superficialacceptance without true comprehension (UNICEF 2010).

The introduction of the new national curriculum and the eight key competenciesappears to be generally well received by the schools. Yet the pedagogical approachesembedded within the NCF are similar to those in the CFS approach, where reportsfound that it was difficult to be operationalized, as envisaged (Di Biase 2015;McNair 2009). The new structure, while more flexible, presents difficulties forteachers who are not familiar with such a holistic approach to planning and teaching.A preliminary study undertaken by the Maldives National University (MNU) hashighlighted potential concerns and substantial challenges for the implementation ofthis new curriculum. The study has identified lack of necessary resources, teachers’lack of understanding of the pedagogical and conceptual principles, and inadequateparental engagement in the education process. The report found that the currentapproach to assessment within the new curriculum raised significant challenges and“may have the potential to undermine the quality of teaching and learning as well asrendering monitoring and assessment less effective” (MOE 2016a, p. 29).

Recent Policy Initiatives

Inclusive EducationInclusive education has now become an important and integral part of the schoolsystem in Maldives. The implementation of an inclusive education policy com-menced in 2013. A special unit within the NIE was established to support theschools in the implementation of this policy. Through this policy, children withspecial education needs (SEN) started receiving greater attention. Many programsand interventions including the creation of teacher positions in schools, pre-serviceand in-service training of SEN teachers, SEN target setting, and expanding learningopportunities for SEN students were instigated. Early intervention centers have alsobeen established in three regions (H Dh. Kulhudhuffushi, Gn. Fuah Mulah, AdduCity Hithadhoo) (MOE 2016c). With the new government, in 2018, the inclusiveeducation unit within the NIE was upgraded to become a separate department underthe direct remit of the Ministry of Education with associated increased resourcing.

The number of schools across the country that provides some form of educationfor children with special needs has increased from 52 out of the 219 schools in 2014to 185 schools out of 212 government schools in 2017. The focus of SEN programshas shifted now from selected schools to all the schools and every child. Theprofessional development of teachers for SEN is still ongoing. Children with dis-abilities continue to have inadequate access to educational opportunities, althoughsome schools in Malé have made considerable progress in addressing special needsof students.

Despite these efforts there is a necessity to identify emerging needs with a view toestablishing a more holistic inclusive education system in the country. This isconsistent with the current pedagogical and curricular reform, promoting learner-


centered education and attending to the individual needs of students. In this regardthe identification of children with SEN, based on the functional domains used forlearning, has been identified as a necessity. Teachers need to be further trained to dofunctional assessment of children with SEN. More specialized training for focusedcategories (such as children with learning disabilities, autism spectrum disorder)needs to be provided to strengthen the inclusive education program in Maldives.

Diversification of Options at Secondary LevelThe Business and Technology Education Council (BTEC) curriculum was intro-duced in 2014 as a new stream at the secondary level. BTEC is an internationalqualification offered by Edexcel. This vocational and technical stream was intro-duced to ensure that every student has the opportunity to develop skills, knowledge,and an attitude to enjoy a happy and fulfilling life, under the “No Child Left Behind”policy (MOE 2016b). In 2017, 181 schools out of the 212 government schoolsoffered BTEC programs for over 2000 students. Students enrol in this program at thebeginning of grade 8 and study one BTEC Level 2 course along with the fourcompulsory subjects of Dhivehi, Islamic Studies, English, and Mathematics. Thecourses available for students range from hospitality, art and design, sports, andbeauty therapy. In 2016, one school in Addu atoll piloted BTEC Level 3 which isequivalent to A-level studies.

Another program in the name of “Dhasvaaru” is also offered as an alternativeeducation pathway for academically less inclined and vulnerable students in lowersecondary grades. Since commencing the program in 2014, as a pilot initiative in 11schools in Malé, it has been scaled up to cover all schools in the country. Students inthis program get training through highly personalized learning and work experiencein different companies and establishments. Those who complete this programreceive an MNQF level 3 certificate from the Technical and Vocational Educationand Training (TVET) Authority for their chosen trade. This certificate is consideredequivalent to three O-level subjects.

The BTEC and “Dhasvaaru” programs are both vocational pathways available atthe lower secondary level. These programs may be beneficial for some students.However, it is pertinent to note that students enrolled in this pathway are conse-quently denied a full general secondary education. These programs are typicallyoffered to students who have been “identified” and invariably “labeled” as academ-ically underperforming. Hence, these are often perceived as “inferior” programs.How these programs are managed at the school level also requires further consider-ation to facilitate improvement in their implementation. The lack of support andadequate emphasis on literacy and numeracy in the lower grades, the narrow range ofpedagogical approaches used by teachers, and the focus on marks and examinationresults may be leading students to opt for these alternative pathways. However,deficiencies of teaching and learning in lower grades should not be a determiningfactor for children to be denied a full, general education program.


“Ufaa” Office InitiativesThese two abovementioned alternative programs were initially managed by a spe-cially created unit within the MOE called Ufaa3 This office operated from 2014 to2018. Some of the other new initiatives that were undertaken by this office include:

1. Vinavi or “10 Plus” program

This was introduced in 2016 to monitor students after they complete grade 10 anduntil they reach 18 years of age. The program aims to ensure that every student ismeaningfully engaged in employment, education, or training. Schools are required toreach out to their alumni regularly to check in and offer support. This was a relativelysuccessfully implemented program. The Maldives Education Management Informa-tion System (MEMIS) was able to track the records of all these students, with muchcooperation from all respective schools, directly feeding the data into the system.

2. Risk assessment program

This is a program conducted for all grade 1 students to identify at-risk studentsand provide support for children who may need it. Under this program risks foreffective and academic performance which covers health, psychosocial, and specialneeds are assessed. To date 6616 students have been assessed nationwide under thisprogram which commenced in 2017.

3. Attendance policy

Under this newly developed child-centered policy, all schools were required toclosely monitor the attendance of all their students and report back to the Ministryregularly online, using Google Drive. By 2018, at any given time, MOE officialsincluding the Minister were able to check on the attendance status of any school fromtheir respective desktops, ensuring attendance and tracking of non-attending stu-dents. MOE, by working together with schools and families, has been successful increating a supportive culture for children to attend school every day. Since the startof the program in 2016, absenteeism in schools dropped by 30% in the first 2 monthsof introduction of the policy.

4. Life skills education program

This is a component built into the BTEC and Dhasvaaru program. This program isdesigned to increase students’ knowledge and skills to enhance their personal andsocial competence to resist risky situations that impact on their well-being such as

3The word “Ufaa” in Dhivehi literally means happy. This office has now been dissolved, and thefunctions carried out have been absorbed into the School Administration Division of MOE by thenew government that commenced in November 2018.


drugs, HIV/AIDS, sexual health, and others. In many schools this component doesnot always take place.

ICT in EducationWith 212 schools widely dispersed across 188 islands in the archipelago, providingeducation services is costly in the Maldives. Barriers of remoteness and hightransportation costs can be overcome in many ways through the use of technology.The Maldives has recognized that if ICT can be effectively utilized, it could helpbridge the geographic dispersion and assist in addressing skills shortages. Thisacknowledgment at a policy level is clearly evident in the national developmentplans and education sector plans over the past 10–15 years. The Seventh NationalDevelopment Plan 2006–2010 (MPND 2007), the Strategic Action Plan 2009–2013(The President’s Office 2009), and the Strategic Action Plan for the Education Sector2014–2018 (MOE 2014b) all have articulated policies to address ICT broadly and, insome cases, more specifically to address ICT in relation to education.

One of the 13 objectives of the Strategic Action Plan for the Education Sector(2014–2018) states as follows: “To extend the use of ICT for enhancing theprovision of contemporary educational skills” (MOE 2014b). With the highestinternet penetration across the South Asian countries, Maldives’ acceptability ofnew and emerging technology is very high. Parental push for the promotion ofinternet-based learning has been significant in some schools (Digital Learning,2013). It is reported that in some schools, parents have played an active role inproviding TVs, smart boards, and computers to schools in their support of the use ofICT in education (Asim 2013; MPND 2007).

Subsequently, the MOE has developed an ICT in Education Master Plan2015–2018. This plan envisions that schools will become innovative in their deliv-ery of a quality education (MOE 2015). The plan has ten deliverables which includeupgrading the IT infrastructure in all schools, developing a national education portal,providing all schools access to quality teaching and learning materials, trainingteachers in ICT literacy and ICT-pedagogy integration, and developing an onlineeducational management information system (EMIS), among others.

Two significant developments in 2018 were the commencement of the virtualclassroom project and the school digital project. Under the virtual classroom project,virtual classrooms are established in selected small schools where the studentpopulation is less than 50. These classrooms are connected to a similar classroomsetup in Iskandar School in Malé. The primary purpose is to provide instruction tothe small schools in remote locations of Maldives through quality teachers withouthaving to travel to other islands. Some of the best teachers available in Malé arepractically able to teach students in remote locations.

Under the school digital project, all schools will be networked to offer Wi-Ficonnectivity to its community. Additionally, all the textbooks and other learningresources are being digitized. All students and teachers are also being provided atablet each. Students and teachers then have digital access to their teaching andlearning materials. This project is expected to eventually eliminate the need forprinting of textbooks. The distribution of tablets commenced in mid-2018. Since this


is a very early stage of this innovative program, there is no research feedback.However, anecdotal evidence in the latter half of 2018 indicates that the utilizationof tablets is still minimal for formal teaching and learning purposes in the classroomswhere the devices were distributed. Moreover, teachers also appear to require furthertraining in the pedagogical use of the tablet.

Education in Small Island States

In exploring the growth and development of the Maldives education system, thereare concurrent threads running through the portrayal of evolution and change. Theresilience of a system that has adapted over time is evident in the Maldives alongwith a commitment to providing a quality inclusive education which, given thedistinguishing features of being a small island developing state, is made morecomplex. Small states are seen to have an ecology of their own with distinctivepriorities and dilemmas (Crossley 2010). In the Sustainable Development Goals(SDG), SIDS are given specific mention, recognizing their particular characteristicsand vulnerabilities which include remoteness; small size and limited natural andhuman resources; aid dependence; and vulnerability to climate change and naturaldisasters (UNDP 2014). Small states have tended to be more outward looking,seeking innovative solutions from beyond their borders, to help effectively utilisethe slender resources they do have (Bacchus 2008). As such education systems insmall states have a critically important role to play in helping build human resourcecapacity and educating students to contribute to technologically advanced knowl-edge economies (Bacchus 2008; Crossley et al. 2011). A visionary and adaptiveeducation system is therefore of critical importance to the development of smallstates, given their particular characteristics and needs.

The paradox of the Maldives is that despite its remarkable development over thepast 30 years, serious inequalities exist across the country. A person living in Malé islikely to complete 3 more years of schooling than someone living in the atolls(UNDP 2014). The spatial dispersion has implications for widespread educationprovision that is of high quality (MOE 2008). The “islandness” of the country throwsup many challenges within the education system, and therefore this chapter is also anaccount of the needs of this unique nation within South Asia as captured in a UNreport:

[t]he geographic and spatial dispersion of the population poses major challenges to policy-makers in the delivery of high qualities services such as education health and otherinfrastructure such as power, at economical costs. (UNDP 2014, p. 44)

A number of key policy initiatives represent efforts to improve the quality ofeducation for all students across the country. These initiatives are illustrative of theglobal flow of ideas. Within the Maldivian education system, such reforms includeadvocating learner-centered education, implementing the new outcomes-basednational curriculum, initiating an inclusive education agenda, promoting the use of


ICT, and broadening education possibilities through the BTEC options. These arenot initiatives unique to the Maldives. In fact, they are very much part of the agendaconsistent with SDG 4 and global efforts to improve the quality of education.However, the ways in which they have been embraced and the challenges inherentin promoting reform in a highly dispersed education community are a uniquelyMaldivian experience.

In promoting reform and responding to the needs of the country, the Maldivesgovernment has displayed a strong commitment to education and has traditionallyspent a relatively high percentage of its national budget on education in the past.During the 1990s, the percentage of national budget spent on education was at timesas high as 15%–16%. In recent years, state expenditure on education has fluctuated.There has been a downward trend observed between 2006 and 2016, ending at11.7% in 2016 (Aturupane 2012; MOE 2017a). In terms of GDP, in 2009 theMaldives spent 7.8% on education, while in 2011 it spent 6.79%. However, in2012 the figure decreased to 6.19% of GDP. While these figures may comparefavorably with other South Asian countries, the high level of GDP dedicated to theprovision of education can be seen across many small states (Bacchus 2008;Crossley et al. 2011).

While this declining trend is noted, this chapter has outlined the ways in whichreform has been embraced and the system has adapted. In recent times, the roll out ofthe new curriculum has been a cornerstone of this reform agenda, across a series ofgovernments. Yet like many countries seeking to promote curriculum and pedagog-ical reform, implementation challenges have been reported. The development ofappropriate learning material for the new curriculum and the training of teachers toaddress the pedagogical needs arising from the new curriculum need to be addressedand require a further investment in resources. The “school digitization” projectwhich started in 2018, through which the distribution of tablets to all childrenbegan, demonstrates the vision for innovation within the system. Moreover, digitaltechnology is playing an expanded role in helping to address the challenges ofdistance and isolation for island schools scattered across the nation.

Over time, as seen throughout this chapter, the Maldivian education system hasshown itself to be open to reform and responsive to the evolving needs in this smallstate. The recent innovative projects that will help promote the quality of educationacross its dispersed island schools remain a work in progress. With recent elections, areworked policy agenda is envisaged from the new government, that assumed officein late 2018, bringing with it a renewed era of reform and innovation.

Cross-References

▶ Initial Teacher Education (ITE)▶Maldives’ Higher Education System and Policy


http://link.springer.com/search?facet-eisbn=978-981-13-3309-5&facet-content-type=ReferenceWorkEntry&query=Initial Teacher Education (ITE)

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Transforming Education in the Maldives · The Republic of the Maldives is an archipelago in the South Asia region. It is a highly dispersed country made up of 188 inhabited islands