I am a prefect, but I have not yet got the opportunity to speak to the Captain. It is only
in the second term that I found out who the Captain is!
Given that the School Captain is the figure representing all students at the School Board, such a
distance between her and other students suggest that the views of students in general may not be
too well represented. This minimises children’s opportunities to participate.
Primary school students also expressed dissatisfaction that only students in higher Grades can vote
for the post of the School Captain.
…[T]he School Captain can influence the whole school. So, I believe that all the
students should be given the chance to vote.
Extra-curricular activities in schools
Many children, as mentioned in the previous section dealing with sports/play, are unhappy with
how few opportunities they have for play in school.
Another issue that arose is related to opportunities for participating in other extra-curricular
activities organised by the school such as celebratory events to mark special occasions.
There was marked unhappiness, especially among primary school children, that their views are not
being taken into account in planning school concerts or fairs. They felt that teachers and the school
management do not take seriously the ideas they suggest for stalls at the fair, for example. ‘We
come up with ideas but they never act on them. They do it the way they want.’
Public life & civil society
There is no student organisation in the Maldives to represent children’s views and to represent
their interests at local and national levels. Many students expressed the view that this limits
opportunities for their participation in decisions that affect their lives.
Children with special needs felt a similar dissatisfaction with how few the opportunities were for
them to participate in various activities of the society at large. They are aware that youth
organisations exist, but do not have the opportunity to participate in them. None of the children
with special needs present at the focus group discussions had ever been consulted about any such
activities by any organisation at the local or national level.
Furthermore, students also feel that schools are far too strict on the issue of children’s participation
in civil society organisations and other such institutions and activities. One student noted that:
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