Male’, Maldives — The Ministry of Education of Maldives has announced that the O’level Top Achievers Award for the year 2019 will be held online for all rank holders except for the 1st place winners who will attend a physical ceremony in the capital city Malé.
The O’level Top Achievers Awards is usually held as a grand ceremony in Dharubaaruge each year, attended by top government officials including the President of Maldives, to celebrate and honor the hard work of the students who ranked top 10 nationwide in their O’level exams.
Being part of this prestigious ceremony is a milestone for not only students across the country, but also for thousands of teachers and parents who get to see their students and children receive the award on a national stage. Students and schools put a lot of effort into getting excellent results, while parents pay a hefty sum in tuition fees, as noted by one petitioner. The Education Ministry’s decision to hold a mostly online ceremony is not well received by the aforementioned.
Although it is evident that the decision of Education Ministry is related to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and due to the rising number of confirmed cases, several students and parents have raised concerns and regard this decision as unfair, since some students get to attend a physical ceremony while others do not.
The students request the Ministry to take back on their decision to only hold the physical ceremony for the first rank holders, and to invite all the winners including the remaining deserving rank holders in a physical ceremony held at a later date.
This is really inconsiderate of the achievers feelings. Its like telling them that all their effort and hard work isn’t worthy enough of a proper ceremony just because they didn’t have the capability to reach the first rank.
Petition Signee
They have already worked hard for 10 years and waited one year for this day and are willing to wait more. Why rush into it right now when the situation is not favorable? There’s lots of other feasible options other than this inconsiderate decision that was made.
The petition appeals to the Ministry to delay the Top Acheivers Cermony 2019 till it is safe to do so, even though the students will likely have to wait. The country has just approved Covid-19 vaccine which could potentially decrease the waiting time. The students’ sole request is to allow all the award winners along with their parents and teachers the opportunity to take part in a ceremony that celebrates their hard work and time.
