President: Don’t aim for an easy degree, follow your passion

President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih on Wednesday advised top achievers to follow their passion in pursuing higher education, rather than aiming for an easy degree.

He made the remark while speaking at the Top Achievers' Award 2020-2021 ceremony.

Addressing the top achievers, President Solih said that doing something because it was forced upon by someone else would leave students without their talents fully utilized.

He said that pursuing their field of interest would lay a strong foundation for their future, adding that all fields were full of opportunities.

“There are multiple development projects in progress across Maldives. Services are being established in islands that lack essential services. Each of these services offer multiple employment opportunities. What we need are educated and skilled Maldivian youth to perform these jobs,” he said.

He said that the focus of students who complete secondary and higher secondary education should be on nation-building.

And nation-building requires for students to first build themselves, he said.

Maldivian students broke previous records in the higher secondary and secondary examinations in 2020-2021. 5,955 students sat the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) and secondary examinations in the academic year, while another 2,641 students took the Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) and higher secondary examinations.

757 students in the secondary examinations were included in the national top 10 rankings, while 13 were in the world's top 10 for individual subject achievements. Six students won the High Achievement Award.

In the higher secondary examinations, 348 students were placed in the national top 10, and 41 students won places in the world's top 10 for individual subject achievements.

President Solih congratulated the students for their success.

“I believe the hard work you did the past two years is a perfect example of perseverance and patience in face of difficult circumstances. And its proof that you can reach the shores of success with a strong will, no matter how daunting the obstacles,” he said.