United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) donates laptops and other key equipment to the Ministry of Education to ensure continued learning during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The equipment were handed over by UNICEF Representative to Maldives Dr. Munir Safieldin to Minister of Education Dr. Aishath Ali. The 420 laptops, worth over USD 363,000 and procured through the Global Partnership for Education - Accelerated Funding for COVID-19, will alleviate the problem of resources faced by schools, ensuring teachers have access to the teaching-learning devices to ensure continuous learning through distance learning. The Global Partnership for Education has provided USD 753,000 through UNICEF, for the COVID-19 Education response.
UNICEF has also supplied over 2,000 units of surface disinfectants, worth over USD 50,000, financed through a grant by USAID to UNICEF, to support the efforts of the education ministry to safely reopen schools in 2020 and 2021. Additionally, the donation of Dhivehi literacy materials by UNICEF, worth over USD 49,500 will help improve the literacy of pre-primary and primary students across the country.
UNICEF Representative to Maldives Dr. Munir Safieldin stated the Dhivehi reading materials are very important for students in primary schools, as they are not only easy-to-ready, but easy-to-read materials in their mother tongue, especially since school libraries need more books in Dhivehi.
Meanwhile, Education Minister Dr. Aishath Ali appreciated the donations by UNICEF to the education sector of the Maldives.