Dr. Abdulla Rasheed Ahmed is the Minister of State for Education, Republic of Maldives. He is a distinguished educationalist with 30 years of experience in the field of education. He served as a principal of the government school for 18 years and is Former Vice-Rector of Avid College. Currently, he is the Head of the National Institute of Education. Dr. Ahmed has been awarded several prestigious national and international awards. He is also the Global Goodwill Ambassador of the International Education Advisory Council. Nepalkhabar's Pramod Jaiswal spoke to Dr. Abdulla Rasheed Ahmed on the status of Education in the Maldives in particular and South Asia in general. Excerpts:
What is the status of Education in the Maldives in particular and South Asia in general? The literacy rate of Maldives is very high and female literacy is also impressive. How has the Maldives made such an impressive achievement?
The status of education in the Maldives is very good. Even during COVID-19, Maldives was one of the countries that continuously provided education to students. When schools were closed in the Maldives after March 2020, we started teaching through national TV and online platforms. We reopened schools sooner than other countries and started teaching students physically by taking all the COVID-19 measures. Therefore, I can say that Government of Maldives is providing good education to students as a result of which they perform well in the A level and O level exams. The literacy level of Maldives is the highest in South Asia. It is around 98 percent. Female literacy is high too. In the Maldives, we don’t have any difference in access to education for boys and girls. When it comes to adults also, there’s not much difference. Now we’re trying to make the Maldives a 100 percent literate country.
Education in South Asia is also good. We can see good public education in neighbouring countries along with very strong private education. Especially in India, I have seen the private sector play a very huge role in providing quality education. There are good quality schools which provide all facilities along with state-of-the-art buildings. Education in our region is good. Of course, there are things which need improvement too in the Maldives and other South Asian countries as well.
How has COVID-19 impacted the education system in the Maldives as well as in South Asia?
COVID-19 impacted education in the Maldives as well as South Asia. Our schools closed in March 2020 and were shut down for months. During this period, students stayed at home and were impacted socially and mentally. Human beings are social creatures. Learning is not only imparting knowledge; Social interaction, learning from each other is very important. Staying at home impacted our students negatively in many ways. Learning loss is a reality. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) also stated that learning loss recovery is important. Due to school closure, students may have forgotten some of the things they have already learnt. Learning loss also refers to the days lost when teachers couldn’t teach the students. If students have forgotten basic concepts that they’ve learnt in previous grades, then there are no way teachers can continue without filling this gap. In the Maldives, we’re trying to focus on learning recovery. Schools were closed for long periods in our neighbouring countries like Sri Lanka, India and Nepal as well. Maldives schools remained closed for the shortest period among the South Asian countries. We reopened schools by following all the safety measures stated by UNESCO, World Health Organization (WHO) and our Health Protection Agency (HPA).
What steps has the government of the Maldives taken to promote quality higher education in the Maldives?
Our President pledges to make the first degree free. Under the free degree scholarship, students pay only a little amount of their tuition fee to private colleges. Therefore, there is a very good opportunity for our young people to pursue higher education while they are in the Maldives.
Given the commendable performance in terms of gender-related development, Maldives still lacks in terms of female labour participation. Is there any strong reason or context for this paradoxical tendency?
That depends on certain jobs. In some jobs, female participation is higher than that of males. For example, a very huge percentage of our teachers are females. Female participation in the education sector is high. Even in the health sector, a very large number of nurses are females. Very rarely you can see a male nurse. But in certain jobs, for example, tourism industry which is our major industry, the number of females is less. The reason may be the cultural belief that working in a resort is for males and not females. We have to change this mindset because for many, on an island, or the capital Male, working in a hotel is fine. But when it comes to a resort on a separate island, parents are hesitant to send their daughters to work there. Females are also contributing very well to government offices.
Do you think taking up collaborations with foreign universities in the field of higher education specifically focused upon the multi-dimensionality of disciplines with a special emphasis on gender sensitisation would be a welcoming step for alleviating the systemic inconsistencies of the Maldivian education sector?
Some of our universities and private colleges are already affiliated with foreign universities. Some are affiliated with universities in neighbouring countries and some with universities in the UK, Australia, etc. It is good if our universities and colleges work collaboratively across various disciplines. There are certain areas in which we need our young people to be specialized, especially the skilled professions. Here you can see a lot of foreign workers working in different industries, resorts and other private sectors. They are not just manual labours but skilled workers. So those are the areas that our higher education should focus on.
Could you please elaborate upon the existing legal measures taken in the Maldives to ensure better representation of women in higher echelons of Power? How would you rate the performance of the country in this regard?
I can say that this government, under the leadership of His Excellency Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, has given a lot of importance to empowering women. Therefore, you can see female cabinet ministers in our President’s cabinet. There’s a legal framework which gives women the opportunity to be in the Island Council and City Council. 33 percent of Council Members should be female. So, that’s a very good decision. In the Parliament, you can see few females. That is an area where the female representation should be higher.
How would you evaluate the role of the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) in enhancing the institutional capacity of Maldives in terms of closing the gender gaps? Do you think any more incremental changes to be done concerning the collaboration between Maldives and UNICEF?
Some international organizations like UNICEF, WHO, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), UNESCO and World Bank are working in the Maldives. International banks like Islamic International Bank, Asian Bank and UN organizations are working here in different sectors. For the education sector, we get a lot of contributions from UNICEF. For the health sector, we get assistance from WHO. UNDP is also providing assistance. We receive a lot of help from World Bank as well. By collaborating with these UN agencies and other international banks along with World Bank, Government of Maldives is working to improve in all areas.
Lastly, can we expect something revolutionary from the part of the Maldives to the entire globe in terms of some pedagogy or infotainment to democratise the dissemination of knowledge?
We are trying to transform education in terms of pedagogy. What we promote is making teaching more learner-centric. To do so, project-based learning is very important. Therefore, we are promoting project-based learning. Last year also, we have provided professional development to all our teachers and this year and even next year, we’ll assist our teachers to implement project- based learning in classrooms. I can say that this is one initiative which will transform our education system.
We are also promoting differentiated instruction. As you know, each individual is different. Therefore, one size does not fit in a classroom as well. If we can teach the students according to their capability, readiness and interest, every student will be developing according to their potential. Sometimes we see that some students are very good while some are extremely poor.
That’s because students are not catered to individually. If we teach every student the same thing in the same way, then it will be suitable for only some students and they will be progressing. But it may be too difficult or even easy for some others. As a result, students won’t be developing according to their potential. Therefore, using differentiated instruction is very important and I believe this will be a transformational change as well.
Another thing we want is to minimize the competition in education. If people believe that education is a competition or the purpose of schooling is just producing results, then the real benefit of education will not be gained. Knowledge makes students a complete, skilful individuals. But if we focus just on the result, then this will not be possible
