The government has announced changes to the curriculum for educational courses offered from the Maldivian Educational and Cultural Center (MECC) in Sosunvilla, Sri Lanka.
MECC is dedicated to promoting friendship between Maldives and Sri Lanka and offers a variety of programmes for both Maldivians and Sri Lankans.
Some of the programmes offered through the centre include short Dhivehi language courses for Sri Lankan nationals, short Sinhala language courses for Maldivians living in Sri Lanka, Quran recitation courses, playwriting and presentation, and speaking. There are also courses at various levels to teach Maldivian students Islam, Dhvehi and Quran from foundation stage to SSC level.
Speaking to PSM News, Mariyam Khaleel, a Dhivehi language teacher, said the students studying at the centre follow a similar programme taught at schools in the Maldives which includes activities on language and literature skills.
"We don't feel like we are not in our own country. Sosunvilla is holding poetry and Quran competitions and various other things like literary forums here in the centre. We also hold various events to celebrate national day and independence day and other similar national holidays,” she explained.
The primary reason for the change in the curriculum, according to Mariyam Khaleel, is the lack of proficiency in the Dhivehi language among the children in the lower grades.
Therefore, the main focus of the curriculum changes was to shape the coursework in such a way that children of different ages would become familiar with the Dhivehi language and literature, she said.
The current structure of the curriculum:
1. Foundation Stage, Grades 1 and 2: At this stage, students will be taught the Quran and the Dhivehi language. This stage is divided into two main parts.
In Level 1, students will be taught to write letters and form small sentences. This stage is reserved for Nursery, LKG and UKG students. Level 2 is for children in grades 1 and 2. This stage will teach children how to write different levels of sentences and paragraphs.
2. Grades 3, 4 and 5: This stage will also teach the Quran and Dhivehi language. However, the teaching of the Dhivehi language will also include Islamic religious lessons along with information on Dhivehi history and Maldivian nationality. This stage is also divided into 2 parts.
3. Grades 6, 7 and 8: Quran, Dhivehi Language and Islam will be taught separately. In this stage, students will follow the curriculum taught in similar grades in Maldives. This stage is divided into 3 parts.
4. Grades 9 and 10: Students will be taught Dhivehi Language and Islam. Both subjects will follow the same curriculum taught in these grades in Maldives. This stage is divided into 2 parts.
Mariyam Khaleel pointed out that the curriculum change has yielded a positive impact with a 100 percent pass rate in the SSC examination last year.
"We are getting very good feedback from some parents. Especially the children of Grades 1 and 2 have expanded their vocabulary. We hope that the children of Grades 1 and 2 will make Sosunvilla proud when they take the SSC examination,” she said.
Sosunvilla is currently teaching three days a week including Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
"I have been bringing my children to Sosunvilla for about nine years now. In fact, our children are being taught under a very good module for children studying abroad and to keep classroom discipline as they would in our own country,” a parent who spoke to PSM News said.