Malé, Maldives | October 2026

The Department of Inclusive Education (DoIE), Ministry of Education, Maldives, is marking Specific Learning Disabilities (SLD) Awareness Month this October through a Go Red campaign on its social media channels. Ministers, senior officials and education professionals are sharing why they go red, using personal messages to highlight the importance of inclusive education and the need to create learning environments where every learner can thrive.

The campaign builds on the Maldives’ growing efforts to raise awareness of SLD, supported by sustained collaboration among the Department of Inclusive Education (DoIE) and the Commonwealth of Learning – Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia (COL-CEMCA). Following the Maldives’ participation in the COL-CEMCA pre-conference workshop on designing a teacher competency framework for inclusive education in Gaborone, Botswana, on 9 September 2025, the Go Red initiative gained momentum nationally. Last year, students in the Maldives wore red to raise awareness of SLD. This October, DoIE has taken the lead in extending the campaign to policymakers, education officials and professionals, bringing the message of inclusion to a wider audience.

The value of this sustained effort is evident in how the campaign has engaged school communities. “Since 2025, the Go Red Campaign has served as a pivotal platform across all public schools in the Maldives to deepen understanding of Specific Learning Disabilities (SLD),” said Ms. Adhila Rushdhee, Director General, Inclusive Education, Department of Inclusive Education. Through mass assemblies, informative videos, awareness walls and visual posters, she noted, the campaign has helped teachers, parents and students build greater awareness of SLD characteristics and effective support strategies.

The campaign’s reach has also extended beyond schools, drawing education leaders and professionals into a shared public commitment to inclusion. At the Gaborone workshop, Dr B. Shadrach, Director, COL-CEMCA, underscored the importance of ensuring that every learner is included, stating, “No student should be left behind.” That principle continues to inform collaborative efforts to strengthen awareness, teacher capacity and institutional support for learners with SLD.

Since 1 October, DoIE has been sharing photographs of campaign participants holding cards bearing the message “I Go Red because”. Accompanied by the hashtags #SLDAwarenessMonth and #InclusionMatters, the posts reflect different dimensions of inclusive education, from removing barriers to learning to ensuring accessible curricula and fair assessment. Complementing these personal messages, DoIE has shared educational resources designed to translate awareness into practice, including “A Teacher’s RED Toolkit”, which offers practical strategies for supporting learners with SLD, and an educational guide explaining the mild, moderate and severe levels of SLD.

For Dr. Aishath Wadheefa, Minister of State for Education, Higher Education and Skills Development, the significance of the initiative lies in the collective commitment it encourages. “More than a movement for awareness, the GO RED campaign united school communities across the Maldives, bringing them together to advocate for every learner’s right to an equitable and inclusive education,” she said. The message captures the campaign’s wider ambition: to make inclusion a shared responsibility across the education system, not simply a month-long awareness activity.

The campaign reflects the sustained collaboration between DoIE and COL-CEMCA to advance awareness and strengthen inclusive education in the Maldives. Building on earlier awareness and capacity-building initiatives, this year’s campaign demonstrates how continued partnership can translate shared commitments into national action. COL-CEMCA looks forward to continuing its engagement with DoIE and national stakeholders to strengthen support for learners with SLD and promote more inclusive learning environments.