The Maldives has secured a USD 200,000 (MVR 3.08 million) grant from the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) to strengthen the resilience of the country's education system to climate change and disasters.

The grant was awarded under GPE's Climate Smart Education Systems Initiative (CSESI) and will be implemented by the Ministry of Education, Higher Education and Skills Development in collaboration with UNESCO and Save the Children Australia.

The project will run until May 2027 and focus on strengthening the education sector's ability to respond to climate-related challenges through four key areas.

These include enhancing the Maldives' capacity to access international climate finance for education, integrating climate change and disaster resilience components into the national curriculum and teacher training programmes, and strengthening school infrastructure to better withstand environmental challenges.

The project will also support the development of stronger information management systems within the education sector to facilitate evidence-based policymaking and planning related to climate change and disaster preparedness.

The ministry stated that the initiative is expected to improve the education sector's preparedness for climate-related risks while supporting long-term resilience across schools, particularly in vulnerable island communities.

GPE is one of the Maldives' key development partners in the education sector. The organisation is also supporting the implementation of the THAIBA project, which aims to strengthen and modernise the country's education system.