Malé, Maldives – Due to the recent public outrage and complaints by A-level students, the decision to award top ten achievements and presidential scholarships for the students participating only in the April/May exams, have been changed by the Ministry of Education.
This comes after the Ministry announced the opportunity for students to choose between their sittings in the AS and A-Level exams during either the April/May option or the October/November option, however with the repercussion that students who opt out of the April/May forms to not be eligible for the National Top Ten Awards and the Presidential High Achiever’s Scholarship.
The announcement was not met with applause by the students and parents, who took to social media and other platforms to express their frustrations regarding the decision of the government.
Following this, Minister of Education Dr. Aishath Ali tweeted today, saying that that due to the change in exam schedules, many students are frustrated and anxious, which is why it is important to listen to their opinions, which is why the eligibility for the National Top Ten Awards and the Presidential High Achiever’s Scholarship has been changed to include students sitting the October/November exams to also be included.
To address the students’ concerns, we have reviewed the decision on student eligibility for the Top 10 award and Presidential scholarships. Now, regardless of the exam series they sit, all students who take the exam in the first sitting will be eligible.
Dr. Aishath Ali, Minister of Education
Minister Aishath has further added that schools have been informed to collect the opinions of the students, regarding the exams.
We have also asked the schools to collect the opinion of students regarding their preferred duration to sit the exams (either April/May or Oct/Nov). We urge the students to consider the availability of papers in the Oct/Nov series if this decision is made.
Dr. Aishath Ali, Minister of Education
Forms can be withdrawn only for the subjects of International Advanced Levels (IAL) exams, and not for Higher Secondary School (HSC) exams. Before 12:00pm of March 30, students wishing to withdraw their forms will have to inform Department of Public Examinations (DPE), through their respective schools.
This year’s AS-Level and A-Level exams will start on April 26, while the May/June exams were cancelled and taken during October/November, in 2020, due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
