Education: May/June A’ Level, O’ Level exams will be held in Maldives

Education Ministry has announced the decision to hold the Edexcel A’ Level exams and the Cambridge O’ Level in May/June in Maldives as scheduled.

The decision was announced in a press conference this Wednesday.

A’ LEVEL EXAMS

Education Minister Dr. Aishath Ali said all A’ Level students in Maldives will sit for their exams.

“We plan on holding the exams in Maldives. As such, all students will sit for their A’ Level and AS exams in May/June. Their papers will be marked by Edexcel. And the papers will also be provided by Edexcel,” she said.

Dr. Aishath said students will receive the results of their exams on August 10.

UK-based education board Pearson Edexcel made the decision to cancel May/June exams back in February, announcing that it will provide further instructions on teacher assessed grades for students and certification.

Following the decision, the Education Ministry asked students not to cease exam preparations, and initiated discussions with Edexcel to decide on an assessment method.

Deputy Education Minister Mohamed Ihsan said they initiated discussions with Edexcel the same day they announced their decision.

“We were very prompt and initiated discussions with Edexcel the same day itself. The main reason we initiated discussions is because we don’t believe such a significant exam can be held in any school in Maldives at this time by conducting teacher-based assessments as they instructed. We therefore advocated for Maldives to be provided unseen question papers and conducted exams as before,” he said.

Ihusan said Education Ministry held five rounds of discussions with Edexcel, and that the exam board announced on Tuesday night that there is opportunity to hold the exams in Maldives.

Ihusan asked students to submit their applications by March 11, warning late entries cannot be accommodate unlike previous years.

“If we delay, we will face difficulties in holding the exams as scheduled. So, if the application is complete by March 11, there is sufficient time to bring the exam papers to Maldives and supply them to schools,” he said.

Ihusan said the HSC exams will also be held in June as scheduled.

O’ LEVEL EXAMS

Meanwhile, the May/June Cambridge O’ Level exams will also be held in Maldives as scheduled.

Dr. Aishath said Cambridge has provided assurance they will conduct exams in countries that have reopened schools.

“There’s therefore no question regarding holding O’ Level exams in Maldives. The May/June O’ Level exams will be held. And the AS A’ Level exams will be held as well,” she said.

Students in Maldives usually sit for their O’ Level exams in October/November. However, due to the interruption to school schedule due to the COVID-19 pandemic last year, the academic year was extended to the current year and the October/November O’ Level exams was cancelled to provide students more time to cover the syllabus.