President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu announced today that arrangements have been made for children with disabilities to study through homeschooling or at home, while also providing them the opportunity to participate in Ordinary Level (O-Level) examinations.
Delivering this year’s Presidential Address to the People’s Majlis, the President stated that the government’s policy is to establish justice within the education sector as well.
To achieve this, he noted that a special project to implement a comprehensive inclusive education policy at its broadest scale will be launched this year.
The President explained that this includes making all schools specialized for children with disabilities and establishing the necessary resources. He also stated that a way would be paved for such students to sit for O-Level examinations.
"Special efforts will be initiated this year to plan and implement preparations for O-Levels in a manner that is appropriate to their disabilities. Furthermore, based on assessments of the child’s degree of disability or mental condition, amendments will be proposed to the law during the first session of this Majlis to facilitate a home-schooling pathway in accordance with established regulations," President Muizzu said.
- Special classrooms required to provide education.
- Special toilets constructed with privacy, taking their conditions into account.
- Special educational support facilities.
- Procurement of equipment and devices required for learning and teaching.
- Procuring necessary resources for all schools.
- Preparing specialized books for these children.
The President gave his assurance that all schools would be fully equipped with these resources this year. "Every Maldivian child is equal before me. A child should not be deprived of their rights because of a disability they may have. Therefore, education must include all students," he stated.
In addition, the President announced that starting from March 1st, parents of such children who are employed in the Civil Service will be allowed to work from home.
The President also noted that the shortage of SEN teachers is the biggest challenge in teaching these students and highlighted that a special program to train such teachers was initiated last year.
