Hassan warns of imbalance as 49% of O-Level students choose business stream

Educationist Dr Hassan Hameed has raised concerns over the high proportion of O-Level students in the Maldives choosing the business stream, after figures showed that 49 per cent of students who sat the examinations last year had selected the stream.

Hassan, who holds a PhD in critical thinking, obtained the figures through a request submitted under the Right to Information Act on subject and stream choices among Maldivian students.

Commenting on the figures, Hassan said the proportion of students studying business should be a matter of concern for a country such as the Maldives. He said the proportion was below 20 per cent in countries such as the United Kingdom and Singapore.

According to the figures shared by Hassan, 49 per cent of students were in the business stream, while 50 per cent were in the science stream. Only one per cent had chosen the arts stream.

Hassan said having large numbers of students pursuing the same fields could result in a concentration of future workers in commercial and administrative professions.

He said this could make it more difficult for graduates to find employment in those fields while contributing to shortages of qualified workers in other sectors. He also noted that foreign workers already account for a significant share of professionals in several fields in the Maldives.

Hassan also questioned whether the trend should be viewed in the context of the country's wider social and economic development.

“Some people may say that the widespread problems in the country are the result of this figure having reached 80 per cent in the past. Are you concerned about this proportion?” Hassan said in a post on X.

A total of 7,971 students from Maldivian schools were registered to participate in the May-June 2025 O-Level examination period, according to the Ministry of Education.

The information cited by Hassan showed that more than 7,000 students studied subjects falling within the business stream. However, economics had a comparatively lower number of students among subjects classified under the stream.

Hassan’s comments focus on the implications of students concentrating in a limited number of academic streams and the potential effect this could have on the distribution of skills across the Maldivian workforce.