Students allowed to sit A‑Level exams privately in May/June following petition

The Ministry of Education has announced that students who wish to sit A‑Level and Edexcel examinations privately will be given the opportunity to do so in May and June this year.

Edexcel A‑Level examinations were traditionally held in May/June until the early 2000s. In recent years, A‑Level exams in the Maldives have been conducted only in October and November, with last year marking the first May/June sitting in five years.

Students have long raised concerns that holding A‑Level examinations only once a year limits their academic progress. Many argue that the system wastes time, reduces opportunities to improve poor results, and affects scholarship eligibility. A petition calling for the reinstatement of May/June exams has been circulating among students.

In a press release issued Monday, the ministry noted that students who previously wished to sit the May/June exams abroad faced travel and accommodation costs exceeding MVR 30,000 on average. To ease this burden, the ministry has decided to allow private candidates to sit the exams locally during the May/June session.

The Department of Public Examinations will release detailed information about the May/June sitting next Wednesday.

The ministry clarified that while Edexcel exams will be available in May/June, the national A‑Level examinations will continue to be held in October/November.

Students behind the petition said the once‑a‑year system leaves no room to retake exams within the same academic cycle. As scholarship selections are based on top A‑Level performers, students who wish to improve their grades often lose opportunities due to the long wait. They also highlighted that retaking Grade 11 subjects alongside Grade 12 coursework places an excessive academic and mental burden on students.

Students believe that reinstating the May/June session will significantly improve performance and increase the overall pass rate.