President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has revealed his decision to raise the salaries of the education sector in May. He made the announcement in his Presidential Address to the Parliament of the Maldives.
The decision would see a 56% rise in the salaries of graduate-level secondary school teachers, from USD820 to USD1,300, excluding overtime.
In the address, President Solih described teachers as those charged with the most challenging part of nation-building and said human resource development in the education sector is at the forefront of the administration's policies. As such, the president said training and development opportunities were provided to 4,082 teachers, and overseas postgraduate programmes were secured for 20 principals last year. He also said the administration's single-session school policy made significant progress last year, with 23 new schools switching to single-session schooling.
Furthermore, President Solih said infrastructure development projects in the education sector saw 117 classrooms and six multi-purpose halls built-in 22 schools. He said another 473 classrooms and 27 multi-purpose halls are being built in 55 schools across the country, costing USD62 million.
Additionally, President Solih said students from smaller islands should have the same rights and opportunities as others. As such, he referred to the introduction of satellite education in the Maldives, which connects students on two islands to the satellite hub centre at Huravee School in Male' City.
He also noted that 2,127 students have now completed their undergraduate studies through the free degree programme and that another 5,000 students will be completing their studies by the end of 2023.