Petition requests A’ Level examinations in May-June as well

Students have begun signing petition requesting to hold A’ Level examinations in May-June as well.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, A’ Level examinations in the Maldives was held in May-June. However, following the pandemic, A’ Level examinations was shifted to October-November, which has remained the same since.

One of the biggest difficulties faced by students due to this change, is the door being closed to resit the exams if they get poor results. In this regard, students who got poor results will only be resit the exams after a year, which would deny them the opportunity to be in the national top 10 and from scholarships. Moreover, the year wait is also time-consuming.

Students said that holding the examinations only once a year unnecessarily wastes time and negatively affects their performance. They explained that those wishing to improve their Grade 11 results must resit the exams alongside their Grade 12 examinations, which doubles their study load and leaves them with insufficient time to prepare. Students also highlighted the mental distress caused by this.

The only option presently available for students who do not wish to wait one year to resit A’ level examinations is to travel abroad to a country to sit the May-June exams. The students emphasized that this is not a cost they can bear, as it involves not only travel, but accommodation expenses. Moreover, the students also expressed concern over missing lessons taught at schools during this travel period.

The students state that holding the A’ Level examination in May-June would greatly improve students' results, which, in turn, would increase pass rates.