Private candidates allowed to take A-Level exams in May/June once again

The government decided today to resume holding A-Level examinations in May/June, as students have been facing difficulties with the current examination schedule in the Maldives. In a press release, the Ministry of Education stated that starting this year, the May/June series of Edexcel A-Level examinations will be held in the Maldives for students wishing to participate as private candidates.

According to the statement, the Department of Public Examinations will begin releasing information regarding these examinations starting next Wednesday.

The Ministry of Education noted that statistics have revealed that candidates wishing to sit for Edexcel A-Level exams in May/June currently spend an average of over MVR 30,000 solely on travel and accommodation expenses to go abroad. Prior to COVID-19, A-Level examinations were held in May/June.

However, amidst the significant changes brought to the education sector due to the pandemic, the academic year was extended, and in 2020, the A-Level examinations were moved to October/November.

Since then, A-Level exams in the Maldives have only been conducted in October/November. This change meant that if a student's results were poor, they lost the opportunity to quickly sit for a re-take, which affected their chances of making it into the National Top 10 and securing scholarships.

While the Top 10 is announced shortly after the release of A-Level results, the only opportunity to sit for a re-take to improve grades in the Maldives was a full year later.

Students who prepared a petition for the Ministry of Education to resolve this issue stated that limiting the A-Level exams to the end of the year caused students to lose a significant amount of time. These students noted that if exam results were low, the opportunity for a re-take was only available one year later.