An amendment has been included in the bill that has been submitted to the Parliament today, seeking to set January as the start of the academic year in the Education Act.
This amendment is being proposed in the bill that was submitted to Parliament from Huraa Constituency MP Dr. Anara Naeem. The bill includes important matters such as the start of the academic year and the introduction of home schooling, with the first reading of the bill having concluded during today's Parliament sitting.
The bill includes certain guidelines that need to be in Maldives' academic year and academic calendar:
- The academic year must begin in January every year.
- If the academic year cannot begin in January for any reason, it must begin before end of February of that year.
There were 8 highlighted points that need to be included in the yearly academic calendar made by the Ministry of Education, Higher Education and Skills Development:
- The start and end dates of the academic year.
- Days where students are taught.
- Days where students are not taught.
- Professional Development Day.
- Examination days.
- Dates of entry for students entering the academic year for the first time.
- Dates for student transfer between schools.
- School holiday dates.
At least 195 days are to be determined as school-related days, without including public holidays and school holiday dates when determining the academic year.
The guideline reads that the new academic calendar needs to be drafted and announced before the current academic year ends.
Additionally, the ministry is to determine a system for conducting tests on subjects being taught by schools. The amendment also reads that this needs to be included in the guidelines formed under the act.
Previously, the academic year in Maldives began in January but was shifted to August in 2021 due to changes that occurred to education after physical teaching in schools stopped during Covid, with the academic year being extended to six months.
Changing this back to how it was before is a presidential pledge of President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu. In order to fulfill that pledge, the start of the academic year in 2026 was changed to January.
The Minister of Education, Higher Education and Skills Development Dr. Ismail Shafeeu has stated previously that he is thinking of determining the academic year in the Education Act so that anyone who comes into office cannot change the academic year whenever they please.
