Maldives

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Maldives is a small island nation with a population of just over 500,000 (World Bank, 2022).

COL’s work in the Maldives is primarily in the areas of higher education through the Virtual University for Small States of the Commonwealth (VUSSC) network, technology-enabled learning, and benefits from programmes under the aegis of the Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia (CEMCA). Learners from the Maldives are also benefitting from COL’s free online courses and other openly available resources.

Participation rate of youth and adults in formal and non-formal education and training in the previous 12 months, 15-64 years old¹
14.1%		12%
Female (2019)		Male (2019)

Completion rate, lower secondary education for the school year ending in 2020¹
97.5%		90.2%
Female		Male

Gross enrolment ratio for tertiary education for the school year ending in 2019¹
66.5%		17.7%
Female		Male

Proportion of teachers with the minimum required qualifications in secondary education¹
90.1%		98.4%
Female (2019)		Male (2019)

1. UNESCO Institute for Statistics Data Centre, retrieved in May 2023

Highlights

Minister of Education for the Maldives, Dr Ismail Shafeeu, co-chaired a COL Session at the 22CCEM Meeting of Education Ministers in London, UK on the topic of Digitalisation and the Future of Education.
200 AptusPi devices distributed among teachers in 74 schools to provide offline access open educational resources (OER).
National Institute of Education supported under IT Augmentation project to develop national resilience and integrate blended learning and OER.

Partners

Partnerships are fundamental to COL’s work. Strategic partnerships allow COL to broaden its reach and engage at global, regional and national levels, while implementation partners support COL’s work in communities and institutions across Commonwealth Member States. Partners include multilateral organisations, regional bodies, national governments, government agencies, foundations, civil society organisations, public and private (not-for-profit) institutions and the private sector. COL partnerships assist in improving and extending teaching and learning services to people in the developing Commonwealth.

COL’s partners in Maldives include:

Ministry of Education
Islamic University of Maldives (IUM)
National Institute of Education
Villa College

Key Contacts

Focal Point

Ms Fathimath Shinaz Moosa
Head of Foreign Relations Section
Ministry of Education

Literacy rate (2021)¹
98.4%		97.6%
Female, Adult (15+)		Male, Adult (15+)

Economic Activity – Labour Forces Participation (2019)¹
53.2%		83.4%
Female, Ages 15-64		Male, Ages 15-64

Political Decision Making (2019)¹
4.6%
Share of seats held by women in national parliament

Life expectancy (2023)¹
80.1		78.6
Female		Male

1. COL gender country profile October 2023

86	140
Individuals using the internet (%)¹	Mobile-cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants¹

15	46
Fixed-broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants¹	Active mobile-broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants¹




1. International Telecommunication Union (ITU), retrieved in May 2023.

Maldives

Highlights

Partners

Key Contacts

Focal Point

Notable Mention

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