Former Chancellor of Maldives National University (MNU) Dr. Hassan Hameed has expressed concern regarding the increase of business students in countries like Maldives, stating that it is a cause for worry.

Hameed said this after receiving information from the Right to Information (RTI) form he submitted for the number of students taking part in O level examinations after taking on streams, with him posting the results on social media.

Hameed, who has worked in the education industry for more than 40 years, said it is worrying to see the number of business students in a country like Maldives go beyond 20 percent.

Hameed spoke in great detail in an interview to Mihaaru News, stating there will be positive benefits in students choosing the science stream.

"One of the benefits is more job opportunities for science students. Science subjects in schools are required for higher levels of education in pursuing pathways like medicine and engineering," said Hameed, who has a PhD in critical thinking.

Even though he believes students who have not studied science subjects will find it harder to pursue education in those fields later on, he said that it is possible to study at a degree level without taking on subjects like accounting during O level.

He said it is because they are not "prerequisite" subjects required to study at a degree level.

Hameed said there are relatively fewer employment opportunities in areas such as accounting in Maldives' job market.

"Let us take a regular office for example. Think of an island council administration, how many accountants are needed for such a place?," questioned Hameed.

Hameed said students would need to start using their brains from a very young age for problem solving, critical thinking and "experimentation" investigations within science subjects.

As those experiences would offer lifetime benefits to children from those skills, Hameed believes the science stream is much better.

Hameed went on to say as the commerce and business streams would place a high priority on subjects about financial transactions, what students will take from that is the importance of money and materialism.

While the number of students studying business in Maldives is at 20 percent, Hameed said that percentage is smaller by one-fifth compared to countries like the United Kingdom and Singapore.

"The unrest that spread within the country in the past is some people saying that this will result in the percentage reaching 80 percent. Does this ratio not worry you?," wrote Hameed in the post.

Hameed included the number of students who finished their O level examinations in specific subjects.

Statistics from the Education Ministry show the following:

The science stream includes biology, chemistry and physics, with 8,957 students taking part in the examination. The business stream includes business, accounting and economics, with 7,017 students taking the exams. 58 students were in the arts stream.

Hameed highlighted that students in the United Kingdom take on 11 subjects on average, and that science subjects are a requirement. He also said many students took subjects such as economics as well.

"When we were in school in Maldives, students would take on 9 subjects in the O levels (excluding Islam and Dhivehi). Nowadays, students only take on 8 subjects, including Islam and Dhivehi. I propose picking top achievers across more subjects," stated Hameed.

Education Minister Dr. Ismail Shafeeu recently expressed concern as well over a decrease in students studying engineering in Maldives.