Enhancing the quality of education in the Maldives : challenges and Prospects

Abstract

The team acknowledges with sincere gratitude several officials in the Maldives who assisted and provided valuable information for this study. The Minister of Education, the State Minister of Education, the Deputy Ministers of Education, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education; the Director-General of the Department of Higher Education and the Director- General of the Department of Planning in the Ministry of Education; and the senior staff of the Ministry of Education; the Minister and senior staff of the Ministry of Finance and Treasury; the Department of National Planning; the Chancellor, Rector and staff of the Maldives National University (MNU); the UN agencies; private higher education and training providers, including from Clique College, Cyryx College, Focus Education Center, Mandhu College, Modern Academy for Professional Studies, and Villa College; education officials from the Northern Province, including from the Jalaaluddeen School, Afeefuddeen School and Atoll Education Centre; education officials from the Southern Province, including from the MNU Campus and the Polytechnic in Hethadoo, the Mohibudeen School and the Seenu Atoll Education Centre; employers from the public and private sectors; participants at consultation workshops in Male‟ and the Addu Atoll; and education officials from the Ameeniya School, Center for Higher Secondary Education, and the Hiriyaa School, in Male‟. The team also acknowledges the assistance of several World Bank colleagues in the preparation of this report. In particular, Diaretou Gaye (Country Director for Sri Lanka and the Maldives), Amit Dar (Education Sector Manager) and Deepa Sankar (Senior Economist). The team also thanks Anita Fernando (Team Assistant) and Mohammad Khalid Khan (Program Assistant) of the World Bank for providing administrative and editorial assistance for the production and dissemination of this paper. The financial assistance of the World Bank and the Education Program Development Fund (Global and Regional Activities Program) of the Global Partnership for Education for this study is acknowledged with gratitude.