Online School & Homeschool in the Maldives

Live online Cambridge IGCSE, A-Level, Pearson Edexcel, IB Diploma, and American AP for atoll, resort-sector, professional and Maldivian families across Malé, Addu, Kulhudhuffushi, Fuvahmulah and the resort islands. Cambridge and Edexcel are already your national secondary route — so we are not introducing a curriculum. We are supplying the subject specialists a small island cannot house.

From USD 423/month. Small live classes 4-6 students, Cambridge / Edexcel / IB / AP through to A-Level — after-school and evening, alongside your school.

Where our Maldives families are

Smartious Maldives families are spread across Malé and Greater Malé (the capital, with the deepest human and material teaching resources in the country), Addu City (the southernmost atoll and second urban centre, five hundred kilometres south), Kulhudhuffushi and the north (the regional centre serving a wide group of islands), Fuvahmulah and the central atolls (a single-island atoll where the subject list depends on which specialists live there), and the resort islands (an internationally recruited workforce dispersed across dozens of atolls with no schooling built for it). One national curriculum already running on Cambridge and Edexcel, and one constraint everywhere: teaching capacity.

Homeschool laws and regulation in Maldives

The Maldives is structurally unlike almost every market we serve, and the differences work in a family's favour. Here is the system, what it already gives you, and the two things we are careful about.

The system, and why Cambridge is not foreign here

Education is overseen by the Ministry of Education, with the Department of Higher Education alongside at tertiary level, and education is compulsory — confirm the current boundaries with the Ministry rather than take them from any article. Structurally, primary runs seven years from age six, lower secondary three years leading to the Secondary School Certificate, and upper secondary two years leading to the Higher Secondary School Certificate; British-patterned schools run primary for eight years, secondary three years to IGCSE, and upper secondary two years to A-Level. The crucial point is this: IGCSE examinations were introduced in 2002 for grade 10 and A-Level for grade 12 to qualify students for the diploma of lower and upper secondary education, and the secondary curriculum content is designed around the O-level and A-level examinations offered by Edexcel. Cambridge and Edexcel are the national route. Any provider marketing them to Maldivian families as an exciting international alternative has not understood the country.

What is locally designed, and therefore not ours

Islamic studies, Dhivehi language and fisheries science are designed locally, even at secondary level, and lower secondary students prepare for IGCSE and GCE O level in six subjects of which two are the local subjects Islam and Dhivehi. We do not teach Islam or Dhivehi and would not attempt to. Those belong to your school, as does the domestic record. Our role is the examined international subjects alongside them — and being explicit about that division is both accurate and, we think, the right way round.

The real constraint: teachers, not curriculum

The Maldives comprises twenty-six atolls with around two hundred inhabited islands and a population scattered across them. Income disparity between Malé and the outer atolls has increased, and that disparity is reflected in schools: Malé's have a higher level of resources, both human and material. Meanwhile demand from the atolls has risen dramatically — O-level candidates from the atolls went from 821 in 1999 to 5,235 in 2009. So the picture is not one of a country lacking a curriculum or lacking ambition. It is one where an island of a few thousand people cannot house a Further Mathematics or A-Level Physics specialist, and no curriculum reform can change that arithmetic. A live class of four to six students drawn from several countries can.

Examinations, which the state has largely solved

This is unusually favourable compared with most of our markets. The Department of Public Examinations, established on 1 September 1989 under the Ministry of Education, organises both national and international examinations and has established examination centres at locations across the Maldives, handling IGCSE and GCE O Level, the SSC, Edexcel A Level, the HSC, Cambridge English and on-demand examinations. In most countries we serve, examination logistics are the hardest practical problem for a family outside a capital; here the state has already built the network.

The caution we will not gloss over

Private-candidate availability varies by syllabus, and this matters enough to state plainly rather than bury. Some Cambridge syllabuses are available to centres in the Maldives only and are not open to private candidates at all — Cambridge IGCSE Marine Science is one such example — and Cambridge schools here are allocated to administrative zones each with their own examination timetable. We therefore confirm eligibility per subject per session before entering any student, and we will tell a family plainly if a subject they want cannot be entered privately. Promising a syllabus without checking would be the fastest way to fail a Maldivian family, and it is the single most important operational point on these pages.

Home education, and the clock

On parental home education we could not verify a specific Maldivian framework, and we will not guess in either direction; an absence of clear regulation is an absence of protection rather than a permission, and a family whose plan depends on it should put the question to the Ministry of Education directly. Smartious is not a Ministry-registered Maldivian school and issues no Maldivian qualification — our arrangement is live subject teaching alongside a Maldivian school enrolment. On timing, the Maldives runs UTC+5 with no seasonal changes against our UTC+3, so you are two hours ahead of us: a four o'clock class here is two o'clock for our teachers and a six o'clock class is four. After-school and evening blocks work comfortably, every week of the year.

Why Maldives families choose Smartious

The same curriculum you already follow, better staffed

Cambridge and Edexcel are the national route here. We are not changing what a student studies, only who teaches it — which on a small island is the entire difference.

A specialist for an island that has none

Further Mathematics or A-Level Physics for four students is impossible on one island and routine in a live group drawn across several countries.

The alternative to sending a child to Malé

Relocating for upper secondary has been the traditional answer for atoll families. It is expensive and disruptive, and live delivery removes the need.

Explicit about what belongs to your school

Islam and Dhivehi are locally designed and we do not teach them. Your school carries those and the domestic record.

Honest about private-candidate eligibility

Availability varies by syllabus and some are closed to private candidates entirely. We confirm per subject per session rather than promise.

After-school hours that work

Two hours ahead of our teaching base, with every session recorded for island connectivity.

Fees and admission

From USD 423/month for Primary, payable termly; varies by curriculum and level. One-to-one tuition: USD 15/hour.

Frequently asked questions

Cambridge is already our national system — what do you actually add?

Teaching capacity. IGCSE and Edexcel A-Level are the national secondary route here, so we are not introducing a curriculum. What we supply is a subject specialist for the sets a school — particularly on an outer atoll — cannot staff for a small cohort.

Do you teach Islam and Dhivehi?

No, and we would not attempt to. Those are locally designed subjects, as is fisheries science, and they belong to your school along with the domestic record. We teach the examined international subjects alongside them.

Can our child enter any Cambridge subject as a private candidate?

Not necessarily. Availability varies by syllabus and some are available to centres in the Maldives only, not to private candidates — Cambridge IGCSE Marine Science is one example. We confirm eligibility per subject per session before entering anyone.

Where would our child sit examinations?

The Department of Public Examinations, established in 1989 under the Ministry of Education, organises national and international examinations and has established centres at locations across the Maldives. That removes the biggest practical obstacle atoll families face in most of our markets.

Is homeschooling legal in the Maldives?

We could not verify a specific framework and will not guess. Education is compulsory and overseen by the Ministry of Education. An absence of clear regulation is not a permission — put the question to the Ministry directly. Structured study alongside a school enrolment raises none of it.

Would our child still need to move to Malé for upper secondary?

Not for the teaching. That has been the traditional answer for atoll families and it is expensive and disruptive. Live delivery supplies the specialist wherever the family already is.

What time are classes?

After-school and evening work well. The Maldives is two hours ahead of our teaching base, so a four o'clock class here is two o'clock for our teachers and six o'clock is four.

Which parts of the Maldives does Smartious cover?

Malé and Greater Malé, Addu City, Kulhudhuffushi and the north, Fuvahmulah and the central atolls, and the resort islands have dedicated pages. Live online delivery works identically on any inhabited island in the country.

Guides for families in this country

What parents say

Rated 4.9 out of 5 on Google from 130+ reviews. Read our Google reviews

“What stands out most about Smartious Homeschool and Tuition is their dedication to each learner. They don't rush through topics but ensure the child fully understands before moving forward. The progress my child has made in a short time is impressive. I would definitely recommend them to any parent.” — Google reviewer, Google review