President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has urged state institutions and parents to encourage students to complete their higher secondary education.

In his statement at the awarding ceremony for the O’ Level National Top Ten-2019 held at Aminiya School on Thursday, the president noted that students applying for A’Levels after graduation are noticeably low.

As such, highlighting that only 35.4 percent of students who completed O’Levels enrolled in higher secondary education in the past five years, the president expressed that it is critical to fathom why the remaining 64.6 percent of students do not wish to continue their education.

President Solih revealed that the government’s education policy carries the purpose of building people for the progress of the nation and provide a better future for the students, adding that significant changes have been observed in the education sector over the past three years.

As such, he highlighted the government’s successful efforts including its first-degree free education program, the breakfast program as well as the integrated health screening program launched in 2019.

This year, the government has enacted a new Education Act and a Higher Education and Training Act with an aim to ensure the right to education is guaranteed by the Constitution at all levels of education.

With this being said, the government aims to bring into effect, the ICT Master Plan, formulated with the assistance of UNESCO, in January 2022.

Further, the president shed light on the details of the new satellite program to be launched this year in B. Fehendhoo, V. Thinadhoo, and V. Rakeedhoo. All three islands did not have schools due to lack of school facilities and an inadequate number of students in each age group.

With this, the students from these islands will no longer need to travel to another island by ferry to complete their studies. The initiative will see students from these islands taught by teachers at the satellite hub established at Huravee School in the Maldives capital, Malé City.

The ceremony, in which First Lady Fazna Ahmed, Vice President Faisal Naseem, Minister of Education Dr. Aishath Ali and senior officials from the education sector, saw 21 students who achieved second place in the O' Level examinations in 2019 presented with trophies and certificates by the First Lady.

VP Naseem also presented certificates and pens given by Cambridge and certificates given by Ministry of education to 42 students who achieved the top positions in various subjects.

Five students who achieved the best results in various subjects worldwide received the President’s Medal, the Ministry of Education’s Trophy, Certificates, and Cambridge’s Certificate and pens by the president as well.

Further, Solih conferred the President's Award to 10 who achieved first place in the O' Level examinations of 2019, as well as the Trophy presented by the Ministry of Education.

Five students who won first place in the world and 42 students ranked 10th across the globe, were recipients of the awards.