Report: Ayya
President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom on Monday night said that increasing levels of education and awareness in the Maldives had played a key role in the remarkable progress the country had attained in recent decades.
According to President’s Office, in his address at the celebration to launch Teacher Resource Centres in all 20 Atolls of the Maldives, the President emphasized the intrinsic link between fulfilling national development aspirations and building human resources capacity.
Gayoom said: “Ours is a country that is hungry for success. The people are ready to strive for greater heights of development. The Government is fully committed to facilitating and encouraging the people to realize this dream.”
At the ceremony, the President officially launched Teacher Resource Centres in 20 Atolls. The TRCs were established under a project funded by UNICEF. The project was implemented through the collaborative efforts of the Educational Development Centre of the Ministry of Education and UNICEF Maldives. In addition to the 20 TRCs, the teacher resource website of EDC was also launched at last night’s ceremony. The website was launched by the Minister of Education, Zahiya Zareer.
In his address, the President spoke on the remarkable development of the education sector of the Maldives, over the past three decades. He recalled the standards of education in the country when he assumed presidential office in 1978.
The President said that the establishment of Teacher Resource Centers was the culmination of three important programs in the country’s education sector, namely the Universal Primary Education project from 1978 to 2000, the Basic Education Program that began in 1980 and the Student Computer Literacy Program that began in 1998. He also highlighted that the Government had also implemented many teacher-training projects over the years.
He noted that the country’s functional literacy rate was today at over 98%, which was the highest in South Asia and on par with the best in the world. He pointed out that there were now over 5,700 teachers serving in the Maldives, and that two-thirds of them were Maldivians.
In his address, the President said that the current priority of the Government was to train more Maldivian teachers, and noted that the Teacher Resource Centers would give teachers the opportunity to receive in-service training and refresher courses in modern teaching techniques. He stressed that the most appealing characteristic of the new EDC teacher resource website and the TRCs was their utilization of modern technology as an education tool, particularly the use of Broadband Internet connectivity to make learning interactive.
The President also highlighted the high priority that Islam attached to education. He noted that the very first verses of the Noble Quran to be revealed to the Holy Prophet were testimony to that. He also emphasized that the Holy Prophet had also highlighted the importance and wisdom of people of learning.
The Minister of Education, Zahiya Zareer, the UNICEF Representative in the Maldives, Ken Maskell and the CEO of Dhiraagu, Ismail Rasheed also spoke at the function.
Minister Zahiya Zareer spoke on the development of the country’s education sector, and noted that the establishment of the 20 TRCs was a milestone event for the sector.
Maskell assured that UNICEF would continue its assistance towards the Maldives. He also announced that UNICEF would provide the funding for the establishment of a further 100 TRCs in the Maldives.
Ismail Rasheed said that Dhiraagu was proud to be the technology partner of the important project, and said that the Company was granting a substantial discount to the TRCs for a period of five years, as part of its corporate responsibility policy.
The welcome remarks at the function were delivered by the Director General at the EDC, Dr. Sheema Saeed, and the vote-of-thanks was presented by the Assistant Director General at the Centre, Dr. Nashiya Mohamed. They thanked President Gayoom for finding time from his schedule to attend the function.
Representatives of all 20 TRCs also delivered messages at the function, from their respective schools, through MSN Broadband Internet connectivity.
A video message by the Deputy Executive Director of UNICEF, Hilde Frafjord Johnson was aired at the function. She congratulated the Maldives on the establishment of the TRCs and noted the importance that the people attached to the development of education in the country.
A brief video documentary on the TRCs was also aired.
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