The government will supply all the necessary books to schools before the start of the new academic year on 6 April, Minister of Education Dr Ismail Shafeeu has assured.
The shortage of books in schools remains the primary concern of parents at the start of every academic year.
The government had taken proactive steps this time to avoid a repeat of such a situation by commencing efforts to supply schools with books in December last year.
Providing an update on the efforts, Minister Dr Ismail Shafeeu said that all the books required for the new academic year have been printed and are now being delivered, adding that 81 percent of the books have already been sent to schools while the rest will be delivered within next week.
"This time we are doing something special to make it easier for schools to distribute the books. We are packing the books for each student in key stage 1 and 2 grades separately and delivering them to the schools, he explained.
In addition to providing books, the Ministry has also been engaged in efforts to get schools ready for the new academic year.
According to Minister Dr Ismail Shafeeu, a little over USD970,000 have been spent on repairs for schools across the country along with the recruitment of teachers to avoid shortages of teaching staff.
Recent administrative revisions to the academic calendar set the new academic year to commence on 6 April. According to the Ministry of Education's calendar, the first-term holiday is scheduled to begin on 24 July, followed by the start of the second term on 10 August. The academic year will then conclude on 28 December.
Traditionally, the academic year commenced in January. However, changes prompted by the Covid-19 pandemic led to school closures and subsequent schedule adjustments. By 2021, the administration had moved the start of the academic year to August, leading to school holidays in June and July. These months typically bring rains due to the southwest monsoon, complicating travel to the islands and creating challenges for students, parents, and guardians during the holidays.
During the 2023 presidential campaign, concerns about the timing of school holidays were brought to President Dr Mohamed Muizzu's attention. In response, President Dr Muizzu announced a return to the traditional January start date for the academic year, ensuring that school holidays would once again fall in December.
Consequently, the academic year is now scheduled to begin in January 2026. The upcoming school holidays will extend from 28 December 2025 to 27 January 2026, aligning with the December holiday period as previously practised.