Assessment of the situation of students who migrate to Male' for education and strategies to address vulnerabilities : abridged report

Abstract

Dispite improvements in educational services in the Atolls, children continue to migrate to Malé in large numbers - with or without their parents - to seek better educational and other services. Because there was no information available about how these children perform at school or function within their host family or new community, the Ministry of Education requested assistance from UNICEF to assess the situation of students who migrate to Malé to education. Based on the results of this research, a series of recommendations and interventions are proposed to enable the Government of Maldives, UNICEF and other development partners to provide appropriate support services for these children. This study was carried out in June 2015 by an international consultant who worked closely with the Educational Supervision and Quality Improvement Division (ESQID) of the Ministry of Education (MOE). The research process involved a literature review and focus group meetings with principals, counsellors, Lead Teachers, parents, students, government and NGO workers. Three surveys were also conducted; one with principals and school counsellors (22 respondents); one with students (265 respondents) and one with senior education officials and UNICEF staff on intervention options (10 respondents).