Parliament of the Maldives has passed the changes to its recess dates, aligning it with the school holidays.
The change to the recess dates was put forward by the Regulation Review Committee of the Parliament. The change was passed by the parliament floor with votes from 70 parliamentarians present at the sitting on April 29.
The amendment brought by the committee states the recess which follows the end of the second annual term of the parliament shall fall from May 16 till the end of June. The amendment was brought to align the recess with the school holidays under the revised academic calendar.
The committee states the change will not reduce the overall number of days worked by the parliament. As such, the committee stated the shortened second term will be compensated by an extended third term.
Ministry of Education has brought major changes to the academic calendar of the Maldives due to the circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic. Under the revised calendar, the academic year will now begin in August.