The Maldivian school system

Almost every Maldivian can read and write - not a given in a third world country!

School attendance is not compulsory, but there is great interest in teaching and learning. Each island, which is inhabited by locals, has a primary school that children aged 5 to 11 attend.

The only secondary schools are on Malé: the Majeediya School for boys and the Aminiya School for girls. There are now also mixed schools. The demand for these schools is great. The subjects taught are English, history, geography, natural sciences, music, social sciences, art and sport. Islanders only have a chance of sending their children there if they have the best relationships with the ministry and, above all, the opportunity to place their children with relatives or friends in Malé.

The system of schools that lead to university entrance qualifications corresponds to English. The exam questions come from London, where they are also corrected. The school functioned for years, but lay idle for some time. On the one hand, because Islamic fundamentalism fought this system on principle, and on the other hand, because there was a lack of teachers in the upper classes. The result was that hardly anyone achieved university entrance qualifications. The situation has now relaxed again and many teachers come from Sri Lanka or even from Europe and the USA.

Those who can afford it send their children straight to Sri Lanka, India or Singapore after primary school. Those who want to study have to leave the country after they finish school at the latest, because there are no universities in Malé.