The Education Ministry confirmed schools have closed on the date set by the Ministry from the beginning. Some schools had rescheduled the annual term tests as they fell in with the Ordinary Level exams this year. The O' Level exams are prolonged as students are to re-sit the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) Dhivehi exam on Saturday. A total of 70,000 students studied in schools this year and more than 10,000 of them will leave secondary school.