Schools remain under-funded, students accuse Gayoom of “destroying our generation”

Students at the Centre for Higher Secondary Education (CHSE) in Male’ have accused President Gayoom of systematically trying to destroy their future by keeping their school grossly under-funded.

CHSE students have complained that in their school of 1,300 pupils only 2 computers have internet access. They also highlight damaging cut-backs by the Ministry for Education in recent months. “Before there was pocket-money given for the students who come from the atolls to study but this has been abolished. The pocket money was especially important for students who came from poorer families” reported students, speaking on condition of anonymity.

“It’s the government’s responsibility to provide better education but they are trying to deprive us of an education.” The students went on to say. “They are trying to keep our generation uneducated.”

The Maldivian Democratic Party has come out in support of the students. In an interview with Minivan News, Mohamed Nasheed said “the MDP feels the under-funding of schools, especially secondary schools, is a component part of a broader government policy to keep Maldivians in the dark. School under-funding is accompanied with a state-controlled media that is banned from criticising Gayoom, draconian checks on books to weed out anything that might challenge the government, and a ban on teaching regime-threatening subjects such as politics. It is a disgraceful situation that benefits Gayoom and his cronies at the expense of the country’s future – its children.”

Students and parents have also previously accused the President of under-funding schools in a direct attempt to keep the population under-educated and therefore less able to criticise his regime.

Whilst Gayoom spends $30,000 per day on personal expenses and CHSE gets less than $2 per student per day, is it surprising students feel Gayoom is stealing their future?

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