A $9 million initiative to enhance the effectiveness of the Maldives’ secondary education system, schools, and teaching and learning outcomes has been approved by the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors. 
The Maldives has almost completed universal enrollment in the primary, lower secondary, and early childhood levels of education, but the biggest issues at the higher secondary level are low net enrolment and considerable gender imbalance. With noticeable spatial variations across atolls and between islands within atolls, learning outcomes are moderate. For kids in grades 4 and 7, the typical English, math, and Dhivehi scores ranged from 50 to 60 percent.
According to the World Bank Country Director for Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka Faris. H. Hadad-Zervos, in Maldives primary and secondary schools across the country was closed for a long time impacting the general education system. Therefore “the project will broaden educational opportunities for the youth and advance the country’s equitable economic and human development.”
Moreover, Maldives Atoll Education Development Project will assist the government in raising the standard of secondary education in areas like English language, mathematics, science, and skill education that are strategically important for economic development. Also more students will be able to enroll in higher secondary education with improved learning results at the secondary education level in these strategic disciplines. Schools will be urged to embrace environmentally friendly practices like minimizing trash and saving electricity. Atoll schools will receive assistance to upgrade their ICT resources, while teachers will also receive training to better meet the needs of students who struggle academically. Through focused initiatives, the skills of school administrators, management representatives, and instructors will also be developed.
According to Harsha Aturupane, lead Economist and Task team leader for the World Bank, the Maldivian government is implementing a comprehensive curriculum reform program and is focusing on increasing learning results equally across Atolls and islands. And Karthika Radhakrishnan-Nair, World Bank Education Specialist and Co-Task Team Leader of the project, stated, that building on these encouraging steps, Maldives needs to strengthen the quality of general education with a special focus on teacher performance in the outer atolls and the quality assurance of schools in the islands with small student populations.
The Ministry of Education will carry out the Maldives Atoll Education Development Project. The International Development Association (IDA), the World Bank’s concessional credit window for developing countries, is providing a $4.5 million grant and a $4.5 million credit toward the total financing of $10 million. The Government of the Maldives is also contributing US$1 million in counterpart funds.
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