Saturday
27th Apr 2024
Dhivehi Edition
Ministry of education
Previous Government Changed Academic Year Without People’s Consent: Minister Dr. Shafeeu
Education Minister Dr. Ismail Shafeeu. | Photo: People's Majlis
The last government changed the academic year against the opinion of 70 percent of the 30,000 people who were consulted before the change was made, Education Minister Dr. Ismail Shafeeu said.
Minister Dr. Shafeeu said this in response to a question by Henveiru West MP Hassan Latheef during the Minister’s summons to the Parliamentary session today. MP Latheef asked the minister why he decided to “play with dates,” in regard to the shifting of the academic year’s start and end dates for schools.
Minister Shafeeu said the decision to change the academic year was based on many factors, including the previous academic year and the benefits and losses of the coming academic year.
The minister said the changes brought by the previous government to the academic calendar were causing more harm than good. He went on to say that the previous government had consulted 30,000 people on the change, and gone against the opinion of 70 percent of them, who thought the previous government’s change would not be beneficial.
“People don't want to play with the academic calendar, teachers don't want to play with it and students don't want to play with it,” Shafeeu said, referring to the survey carried out by the previous government.
Minister Shafeeu added that with the re-scheduling of the academic year to January, arrangements have been made to restore the six months of the students’ development that were lost during the pandemic.
In addition, even if the academic year does not coincide with the fiscal year, there will be additional challenges, he said.
The minister added that Cambridge has a certain amount of guided learning opportunities for studying a subject, so the change is planned to increase the number of guided learning opportunities for students.
In line with President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu’s presidential promise, the 2026 academic year will start in January.