Thousands of Maldivian students walked into exam halls this morning as O-level examinations officially got underway. A total of 8,111 candidates are sitting the papers in this batch, with the exams scheduled to run until 12 November.
Alongside them, 7,776 students are taking the SSC exams. The numbers break down regionally as follows: in the Male’ area, 3,222 students are appearing for iGCSE papers and 2,869 for SSC. Across the islands, the figures stand at 4,889 for iGCSE and 4,907 for SSC.
Exam Centres Spread Far and Wide
The Ministry of Education confirmed that papers are being written at 267 centres nationwide. Twenty-five of those are located in the Male’ region, while the remaining 242 are dotted across the atolls. That kind of spread means logistics matter as much as revision notes.
Education Minister Dr Ismail Shafeeu spoke to State TV earlier today. He said he believes students are ready for the challenge and asked parents to ease off the pressure so exam stress does not climb any higher. The minister also offered students a personal tip: begin the day with Fajr prayers, seek guidance from Allah before entering the hall, and open each paper with Bismillah. He added that students should include their hopes for solid grades in their prayers and wished them “successful, joyous and easy exams.”
Last Year’s Strong Showing Sets a High Bar
Maldivian candidates posted strong results both at home and internationally in the previous exam cycle. Whether this year’s cohort can match or better those numbers remains to be seen, but the scale of the current sitting already underlines how seriously the country treats these qualifications.
For now, the focus stays on the students themselves. Thousands of young people are spending the next several weeks proving what they know under timed conditions. Parents, teachers and the wider community will be watching the results that follow, but the immediate task belongs to those sitting at the desks.
