Minister of Education, Higher Education, and Skills Development, Dr Ismail Shafeeu, has said schools must be transformed into spaces for meaningful learning by turning challenges into opportunities, stressing that this requires close collaboration between parents, schools, and teachers.

The Minister made the remarks during the second session of High Achievers' Award 2025 ceremony. 

Speaking at the ceremony, Minister Dr Shafeeu said Maldivians recognise that a child's first school is the home and that a mother is a child's first teacher. He said this reflects the vital role parents play in shaping children and preparing them for life, adding that meaningful progress in education can only be achieved through the combined efforts of parents, teachers, school leaders, and the wider school community.

He also said the home is where children first learn to respect teachers, follow school rules, and develop an interest in learning. He added that families also play the most important role in instilling the mindset needed for children to remain committed to their education.

Minister Dr Shafeeu said teachers can inspire children to develop an interest in specific subjects through their knowledge and skills during the limited time they spend with students at school. However, he noted that sustained progress depends on the encouragement and support children receive from their parents and families at home.

The Minister also referred to the Coleman Report, a landmark study conducted in the United States in the 1960s following the enactment of the Civil Rights Act, which examined the factors that most influence student achievement. He said the study, which involved hundreds of thousands of students across thousands of schools, found that the home environment had the greatest impact on a child's educational outcomes.

He added that numerous studies conducted after the Coleman Report examined ways schools could further improve student achievement. According to those studies, establishing seven key practices within schools can help every student reach success.

Among those, Minister Dr Shafeeu highlighted the relationship between schools and parents as one of the most important. He said strengthening that partnership increases teachers' motivation and commitment, encourages schools and parents to work together towards shared goals for students, reinforces the importance of education, and enables parents to play a more effective role in raising their children.

The Minister said students achieve better outcomes when parents, schools, and teachers work together. He stressed that greater efforts are needed to discuss children's futures, address challenges, and transform difficulties faced in schools into opportunities for meaningful learning.

He also called on principals and parents to strengthen cooperation between schools and families, saying the entire education system must be aligned towards creating a learning environment that enables every child to succeed.