Ministry of Education has stated arrangements will be made for students sitting in the A-Level examinations to take part in the exam even if they test positive for COVID-19 or become a direct contact of a positive case.
Speaking at a press conference, Deputy Minister of Education Mohamed Ihsan said the education ministry has formulated the health and safety guidelines for students sitting in the A-Level examinations, in coordination with the Health Protection Agency (HPA) and the Technical Advisory Group (TAG) of Health Emergency Operation Centre (HEOC). Ihsan said special exam halls have been allocated for students who test positive or become direct contacts of a positive case. He noted such halls would have additional safety measures, compared to normal exam halls.
The deputy minister further stated the general health and safety guidelines which are currently followed in schools will be applied for the examinations as well. He said additional measures will be imposed in examination centres of Male’, as the number of students in Male’ would be considerably higher than the number of students in the atolls. As such, he said additional examination centres will be used in Male’ to avoid large gatherings of students and ensure social distancing.
The deputy minister stated the ministry is currently undergoing the final preparations to conduct the A-Level examinations. As such, he noted the ministry is currently conducting invigilator training and transfer of exam papers to all exam centres. He said all exam papers are expected to reach the centres by September 30.
This year’s A-Level examinations will commence during the first week of October. A total of 1,529 students are sitting in the examinations from the Maldives, including 1,435 students from schools and 94 students taking the exams privately. The exams will be conducted in 4 exam centres in Male’ and 33 exam centres in the atolls.