While Qur'an has been included as a separate subject in the upcoming O'level examinations, the Department of Public Examination (DPE) has revealed that students will now be required to complete one assignment in lieu of two.
Initially, the Ministry of Education sent a circular to schools after passing the motion to introduce a new educational curriculum wherein Qur'an will be regarded as a separate subject, and students were required to complete two assignments as a part of their examination.
This was declared to be in effect starting next year.
However, DPE sent another circular to the schools today stating that the change to complete one single assignment was brought for the relief of students since this would mark the first examination of the like. It stated that the concerns of parents also influenced this decision significantly.
The circular dictated that students will be expected to complete and submit the assignment by April, 2020. According to an official at the department, O'level students were initially set to complete and submit their first assignment by February, upon which the subsequent one would be assigned.
The circular further stated that the department will be developing next year's grade 10 Islam and Dhivehi subject question papers as well. As such, with the introduction of the new curriculum, teachers and students will be presented with a sample paper, DPE said.
It has been decided to bring certain changes to the Dhivehi and Islam subjects' paper structure as well. As such, the exam paper will contain the reading comprehension and writing whereas 'adhabiyyathu' (literature), 'lhen' (poetry), and 'raivaru maanakurun' (interpreting the poems songs) will be included as an assignment.
Moreover there will be multiple choice questions (MCQs) as opposed to short answers in the first Islam paper with short, and long answers in the second paper.
