Students should be taught critical thinking: Minister

Minister of Education Dr. Aishath Ali has said that students should be taught diverse thinking skills.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the sixth "International Teachers Conference" organised by the National Institute of Education, the minister said some scholars believe that the old education system is not relevant for the 21st century and revolutionary changes are necessary.

To train students for this change, the minister said the priority should be given to understand needs and situations and teach them how harness and use information.

Students face a mix of information and disinformation today. The line between fake and real news have blurred the difference between real and fake news, she said.

The minister said that this had led to educational scholars viewing critical thinking skills and personality traits as important factors.

"Children need to be taught critical thinking skills. The ability to think deeply and broadly. A person can only understand deeply and broadly with the amount of information available to them. Therefore, it is important to increase the availability of information on various subjects," she said.

The Minister said that it is important for students to develop certain characteristics which include:

- Paying attention and developing critical thinking

- Self-confidence and consideration towards others feelings

- Learning collaboration and ways of communication

- Developing a sense of curiosity and seeking knowledge

- Learning though experiences seeing things through

Dr. Aishath said she hoped that by the end of the seminar, a lot of information about modern education systems would be spread among the participants and a clear direction will be drawn for the Maldives education system.

The teachers conference was inaugurated by the First Lady Fazna Ahmed at Haa Dhaalu atoll, Kulhudhuffushi on December 24.

The Teachers Conference is a series of conferences held every two years. The last conference was held was in 2019, in Addu City. This year's conference is attended by more than 220 teachers and academics from Maldives and abroad.

Teachers and scholars from Bangladesh, India, Malaysia and Turkey also took part in the conference.

The sixth "International Teachers Conference" will feature 43 papers from various fields including four workshops. The conference will also host two panel discussions important for the education sector.