600 SEN teachers needed, challenges in sourcing teachers: Minister

Minister of Education Dr Ismail Shafeeu has highlighted that there is huge difficulty in sourcing teachers.

Speaking at the O'Level Top Ten ceremony, the minister said that the issue of there being insufficient numbers of teachers in schools is a persistent challenge faced in the country.

In the case of primary grades, 200 additional teachers, along with 600 SEN teachers are required even at present, he said.

"We are seeing, without a doubt, that there is a need for qualified teachers to provide our students with a good education," he said.

The minister said that including expatriate teachers, 77 percent of teachers in Maldives' schools are female.

Male Maldivian teachers are extremely few, at just 16 percent. In primary grades (Key Stages 1 and 2), male teachers are at 9 percent.

The Minister called on students who completed A'Levels and O'Levels to pursue teaching as a profession.