Changes brought to the academic calendar in light of the global Covid-19 pandemic have now been made permanent, with the new academic year set to begin on 10 August 2021.

The Ministry of Education had implemented the change in order to allow parents to spend some time on holiday with students, who had their education and learning experience hindered significantly by the pandemic. The academic calendar had been changed in 2020 to accommodate for the losses, and the change has since been made permanent.

The new academic year is scheduled to begin on 10 August 2021.

Minister of Education Dr. Aishath Ali had confirmed the changes at a press conference, revealing that the new academic year would now begin in August. She added that annual school holiday would thus begin in late-June or July. She further highlighted that two or three more weeks of holiday would be added to the mid-term break scheduled for students in the month of December.

Detailing the new changes to the academic calendar, Deputy Minister of the Education Ministry Ahmed Mujahid said that the academic year had been changed after much deliberation with stakeholders. He added that changing the academic year had been a request made by members of the public when this administration took office, such as from parents of students who were working within the tourism sector.

He noted that the subject had been broached at the Guesthouse Symposium held in December 2018, and that the Ministry of Education had initiated discussions to resolve this issue that year.