Minister of Education, Higher Education and Skills Development Dr Ismail Shafeeu has announced that Key Stage One students in the Maldives will undertake an international assessment in November 2026, allowing their performance to be measured against students of the same age in other countries.

Speaking at the ceremony held to release the Key Stage Three National Assessment of Learning Outcomes Report, the minister said the Government is committed to making education policy and curriculum reforms based on evidence and assessment data.

He said previous national assessments conducted for Key Stage One and Two were not fully utilised to improve the education system, but the Government is now using those findings to guide reforms.

The minister noted that the latest Key Stage Three assessment covered five subjects, with students performing relatively better in Islam and Dhivehi, although further improvements are still needed.

He identified mathematics as an area of concern, saying previous assessments had consistently shown weaker performance. In response, the ministry has introduced teacher training programmes, curriculum revisions and improvements to mathematics textbooks, while increasing classroom time allocated to the subject.

The international assessment scheduled for November will evaluate Key Stage One students in mathematics, science and English, providing internationally comparable data to support future education planning.

The minister also revealed that the ministry began monitoring student attendance through a new digital system last month to improve attendance tracking across schools.