Learning
Quality learning that includes every child and young person and cultivates every ability
Context
Throughout Maldives, education is important to children, parents, caregivers and families. The value placed on it is evident in the progress the country has made towards achieving near universal attendance in pre-primary, primary school and lower-secondary education.
A lot has been achieved.
But there is still much to do.
Challenges
Despite success in access to education, Maldives faces multiple challenges in providing quality education, especially to older children, children who live in remote island communities, and children with disabilities.
Transitions to secondary school
School attendance drops dramatically to 35 per cent once children reach upper-secondary levels, with more girls in school than boys making the transition. One of the drivers of this drop is the lack of secondary-level learning opportunities in remote islands. For many children from island communities, leaving home is the only way to complete secondary education.
Children with disabilities
Across all levels of education, children and young people with disabilities face significant inequities. The education system is not fully equipped to handle the specific needs of children with disabilities and children with complex learning profiles. Currently, there are gaps in availability of assistive learning technologies and teachers trained to respond to the learning needs of children with disabilities.
Learning poverty
Another concern for educators is the number of children who attend school but do not learn – often referred to as learning poverty. Recent national learning assessments indicate learning losses in subjects including English, Dhivehi, Islam and Mathematics.
Some of the loss can be attributed to school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic. But the assessments also highlight long-standing learning inequities between children in cities and children in remote island regions.
UNICEF in action
UNICEF Maldives has actively pursued initiatives to transform education systems so that every child learns, achieves developmentally appropriate learning milestones and can transition from school to work and life.
Working with Maldives’ Ministry of Education, donors and partners, UNICEF Maldives has sought ways to bridge inequities in learning including systematically incorporating digital learning innovations into classrooms. The goal, in particular, is to eliminate inequities by reaching children and young people with disabilities and students who live on remote islands with quality learning opportunities.
These efforts depend on more assistive learning technologies and teachers who are trained to make the most of the devices available. It also means making sure that teachers and resources are accessible to children who live in island communities – whether in the form of digital learning or satellite schools.
Recruiting and training teachers is also a priority along with making sure they have the capacity to respond to the needs of children with disabilities and complex learning needs.
In addition, efforts are underway to improve foundational learning and increase transition to upper-secondary school. One effort is a pilot project that introduces digital learning on tablets in hybrid learning environments.
These kinds of partnerships with the Ministry of Education and donors focus on:
- Improving learning curriculum and introducing digital and hybrid learning models
- Training and developing teachers
- Improving safety and inclusiveness of school environments
Critical to each of these efforts is consultation with community leaders, parents, caregivers and children and young people.
