‘This cannot happen’: Minister promises action over rise in school truancy

Education Minister Dr. Ismail Shafeeu has vowed to take action to combat a rise in truancy in the Maldives, telling the Parliament that skipping school without a reason is something that simply cannot happen.

Shafeeu, who was summoned to the Parliament on Tuesday morning, was questioned by Milandhoo MP Hassan Mufeed Abdul Ghadir regarding the high truancy rate.

Shafeeu said that the Education Ministry began to notice the high truancy rate after schools were made to share attendance records on a daily basis.

He said that high truancy could have far-reaching consequences, including adverse effects on national development.

He said that it was imperative to identify the cause of the high school truancy.

“Failure of students to attend school, for any reason, simply cannot happen. The Ministry of Education will be taking action over this,” he said.

Shafeeu said that he has met with school principals, and instructed them to take sufficient action to deal with truancy.

However, he did not specify the type of action that will be taken.

Shafeeu recently stated that some 8,000 students haven’t been regularly attending school since the FIFA World Cup 2026 began.

He said that he found the number concerning, and that it was something that everyone, especially parents, must pay attention to.

He said that absenteeism was especially high in the capital, with the absence rate at schools in the greater Male’ area at 40 percent.

Shafeeu said that every day of school that a student loses will affect their education.