rules for the activities either. There is very little consultation especially when it comes to children with special needs – we don’t think there is even a dedicated place for children with special needs to play. Violence: We do not that it is certainly a crime. We know there are laws, but sometimes when people are sentenced, we don’t see the sentences being carried out or being served by those who are convicted. The number for Children’s National Hotline is 1424. There are counsellors now in each school, and children have the opportunity to talk to them. Education: Explains prefects system. Electing students to leadership positions are done by a system of voting, which means that students have opportunities. The Maldives is currently being shaped into a democracy, and in such an environment, these types of opportunities are very good for the country’s future. In terms of the school boards: In secondary schools, it is the School Captain who gets to participate in the School Board. It is therefore the School Captain who has the opportunity to represent all students and make their voices heard in the Board. This, I believe, provides an opportunity for children to participate. When school policies and regulations are being compiled, in Dharumavantha and other schools, children are being consulted. We feel that such policies are being drawn up in ways that would most benefit children. Public life/civil society: We do not get the opportunity to participate in public activities. I would like to note that such opportunities are available to students in other countries --- such opportunities should also be made available in the Maldives. It is only through such opportunities that children will learn how to play a leadership role in society. I feel that is important we get such opportunities. This can happen if we reform the Curriculum. About two years ago, I think, there were attempts made at reforming the national curriculum, but, we didn’t feel that children were included in this process in anyway. This is something about which we are not very happy. Some teachers do consult us when they are doing their lesson plans, and because of this, the teacherstudent relationship is strengthened and made much better. It creates better ways in which we benefit from the lessons. We do know that there is a legal framework for children’s rights, but we do not really know what is involved in it. We also know that most such initiatives are being conducted in the UN. We know that children also started receiving special attention after the end of the WWII. Schools do teach democracy to some extent. However, some students noted that in their schools speaking about democracy is completely banned. I do believe that we should have the right to speak about democracy even if we do not have the right to talk about politics itself. We note with regret that there is no independent student organisation in the Maldives. We feel a real difference when we change from primary to secondary school. For example, in primary school, it is teachers who decide everything; but once we get to secondary school, we get the opportunity to participate in how things are conducted in the school. In terms of out of school education, we can only participate in events that the school itself is invited to. The school gets the invitation, and then only are we allowed to participate. When we look at civil society and public life, we note that there are no organisations that especially targets young people – as far as we know. However, internationally, this is not the case. We think that such organisations should exist in the Maldives too; it will be of benefit to children. In terms of 85