The discussions also revealed that, increasingly, parents are coercing children into participating in various extra-curricular activities they are not necessarily interested in. This arises due to an intensely competitive culture that now dominates Maldivian children’s school experience. From the time that a parent enrols their child in Grade One, for a majority of parents, the focus is almost entirely on ensuring the child is a high-achiever, that they complete their school years as the School Captain or in another leadership role. With this ultimate goal in mind, they push children to get involved in extra-curricular activities of all sorts that they may not be necessarily interested in. Teachers were of the opinion that parents are responsible for the vast majority of cases where children’s views about which activity they want to participate in is disregarded in the pursuit of academic excellence or point-scoring for leadership roles. Asked if they did not think it necessary or possible to prioritise children’s views in making decisions about their choice of extra-curricular activities, one teacher explained: You can. It should be possible. But, parent’s views are too strongly imposed on children. Even when it comes to the academic, this is also the case: sometimes there are instances where children score 92, 93, 95 and above. But parents want 100. Sometimes they cry for a 100. I talk to parents sometimes, saying that 93 is very good – but the parents still scold their children a lot for the ‘low’ score, for not getting a 100. All they want is 100 – one-zero-zero – to be on the report card. When they get 99, parents want the extra one mark to make it a 100. They say, “Oh, come one, what’s wrong with making it a hundred?” Participants in the discussion also expressed the view that there is a distinct lack of knowledge and awareness among many parents of bringing up children in a culture that prioritises their views and needs. Children’s views should be sought…every child is different, there are big differences. Therefore, we need parental awareness and also changes within the system in order to do things in ways that seek and respect children’s views. We must seek children’s views, and we should be able to do so. I sit here and talk like this today, but tomorrow, if my child does not bring an A-Grade home, I will be saying, you could have done it…this is what happens, this is how things go. The underlying reason for the intensity of parents’ focus on high academic achievement above all else, it emerged from the discussions, is the dearth of opportunities for further study available to students once they leave the Maldivian school system. The Maldivian National University was established less than a year ago. Opportunities for undergraduate study and beyond are therefore extremely limited. All school leavers have to compete for the small number of scholarships made available annually through various government and foreign-aid scholarship schemes. It is only the top achievers who make the cut. This makes parents push children more and more towards bringing home only top grades in all subjects to the detriment of their overall wellbeing and happiness. When combined with the lack of awareness about children’s rights and the importance of children’s development in avenues other than the academic, it creates an environment in which children’s views and opinions become inconsequential when compared to what parents consider is in the ‘best interests of the child’. 44