President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has given welcoming news to education sector staff, revealing his decision to raise their pay from May 2022.
In his annual address to Parliament, President Solih described teachers as those charged with the most challenging part of nation-building.
The decision would see a 56 percent rise in the salaries of graduate-level secondary school teachers from MVR 12,628 to MVR 19,740, excluding overtime.
The President said that human resource development in the education sector is at the forefront of the administration’s policies.
He noted that last year, training and development opportunities were provided to 4,082 teachers, and overseas postgraduate programs were secured for 20 principals.
President Solih also said that the administration’s single-session school policy made significant progress last year, with 23 new schools switching to single-session schooling.
He highlighted that Infrastructure development projects in the education sector saw 117 classrooms and six multi-purpose halls built-in 22 schools.
Another 473 classrooms and 27 multi-purpose halls are being built in 55 schools across the country, costing MVR 948 million.
The President said that students from smaller islands should have the same rights and opportunities as others.
He was referring to the introduction of satellite education, for the first time in the Maldives, which connects students on two islands—Fehendhoo Island of Baa Atoll and Thinadhoo Island of Vaavu Atoll—to the Satellite Hub Centre at Huravee School in Malé City.
President Solih went on to say that today, parents’ worries and sacrifices to secure a decent education for their children are a thing of the past.
