The government has decided that the commencement date for the academic new year will be the beginning of the year, starting 2026.

President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu made the decision following recommendation of his Cabinet of Ministers, on Sunday.

Announcing the decision, the President’s Office revealed that the decision will address several pertinent concerns of citizens.

The decision was based on extensive discussions held on papers submitted at the cabinet meeting.

A paper was submitted by the Ministry of Education regarding the shift of the Academic New Year to align with the calendar year.

Upon reviewing the paper, the president has decided against implementing abrupt changes to the academic workflow.

Instead, the shift will be introduced gradually over a two-year period and will observe several enhancements to the academic calendar.

With this, the academic year-end holidays for 2025 will align with December and the new academic year for 2026 will begin in January.

The President’s Office revealed that these changes will allow for an annual three-week academic holiday in July and a four-week holiday during December.

Further, a paper was submitted by the Ministry of Housing, Land, and Urban Development during Sunday’s cabinet meeting, suggesting to allocate a portion of the planned development of housing facilities to urban centers and social housing projects nationwide.

After reviewing the paper, the president reached the decision to establish a dedicated social housing category specifically for local employees in the tourism sector.

Further, it was also proposed to allow local employees working in regions far from their native residential islands to apply for low-rent council housing if such initiatives are launched.

Sunday’s cabinet meeting also saw the Ministry of Health submitting a paper, on which the cabinet deliberated. Following deliberations, the president decided to establish a round-the-clock national helpline to assist individuals coping with mental illnesses and to pursue a comprehensive ‘total solution’.

The president also instructed his ministers to refine the proposal for later cabinet discussions.

Dubbed a “total solution”, the decision involves the integration of all national emergency hotlines, resulting in a merged national emergency hotline that provides all emergency services through a single dedicated contact number.

Deliberations were also held on a paper submitted by the Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Information, and Arts, following which Muizzu approved the establishment of a ‘Media Village’ in Hulhumalé.

Muizzu has instructed to explore potential financing avenues for constructing the building via Business Centre Corporation Limited (BCC) or any other state company in compliance with the Public Finance Regulation.

He has instructed to proceed with the financing of the building under the contractor financing model, if such avenues are not viable.