Parents at Hangnaameedhoo refuse to send 4th and 5th graders to school to protest multigrade class

Parents of fourth and fifth graders at A. Dh. Hangnaameedhoo School refused to send their children to school this Sunday.

There are total 18 students at the fourth and fifth grade of Hangnaameedhoo School. None of whom attended school this Sunday.

A parent who spoke to ‘Sun’ said that all the parents got together and decided not to send their children to school to protest the decision to educate fourth and fifth graders in a multigrade classroom.

The parent said they wanted separate classes for fourth and fifth graders. And had been advocating for the change for the past three years.

The parent said they filed a petition with the Ministry of Education to advocate for separate classes for fourth and fifth graders, but that no resolution had been reached to date.

State Minister of Education, Dr. Abdulla Rasheed said a team from the Ministry of Education will visit Hangnaameedhoo within one week and discuss the issue with the school and parents. He expressed confidence of reaching a successful resolution to the issue.

The parents of Hangnaameedhoo School express concern multigrade education is lowering the quality of education received by the school’s students.

They also protest the integration of children of two different age sets have led to age-inappropriate talk and rowdiness among children.

Hangnaameedhoo School, which teaches up to grade 10th standard, has approximately 100 students.

Over 73,000 students from across Maldives have begun the academic new year 2019 this Sunday.