Overview
The Secondary School Certificate (SSC) is the Maldives' national lower-secondary school-leaving qualification, run by the Department of Public Examinations (DPE) under the Ministry of Education. It is sat at the end of Grade 10, alongside Cambridge International's IGCSE and GCE O-Level examinations, which DPE administers in the same sitting. In practice, "the Grade 10 exams" in the Maldives means this combined SSC-and-O-Level entry: two subjects (Dhivehi and Islamic Studies) are set and marked locally by DPE as the SSC proper, while the rest of a student's subjects, including the two other compulsory subjects, English and Mathematics, are Cambridge-syllabus IGCSE or GCE O-Level papers administered by DPE as the local exam centre.
Note
DPE's own site (dpe.edu.mv) and the Ministry of Education's site (moe.gov.mv) could not be fetched directly while writing this file, so the facts below are drawn from DPE's and the Ministry's own published pages, notices and grade-threshold documents as surfaced through search, plus Wikipedia and UNESCO's examination catalogue. Check dpe.edu.mv for the current year's exact subject list, dates, fees and grade thresholds before relying on any figure here.
Who can apply
Grade 10 students at government and private schools in the Maldives are registered for the combined SSC and Cambridge O-Level/IGCSE sitting by their own school; no separate application is needed for school candidates. Students who are not currently enrolled at a school, or who need to re-sit a subject, can apply directly to DPE as private candidates through a separate late-entry/private application form.
Exam pattern
Every candidate sits four compulsory subjects, plus elective subjects chosen from the Cambridge IGCSE/O-Level syllabus offered by their school.
| Subject group | Subjects | Set and marked by |
|---|---|---|
| Compulsory, local (SSC) | Dhivehi language, Islamic Studies | DPE, in the Divehi language |
| Compulsory, Cambridge | English (as a second/first language), Mathematics | Cambridge International, administered by DPE |
| Electives | Science, Business Studies, ICT, Accounting, additional languages and other subjects offered at the candidate's school | Cambridge International (IGCSE or GCE O-Level syllabus), administered by DPE |
The government funds the examination fees for the four compulsory subjects (Dhivehi, Islamic Studies, English and Mathematics); candidates or their schools cover the fees for elective subjects. The number and mix of elective subjects a student can take depends on what their own school offers, so this varies from school to school.
Marking and results
The two local SSC subjects (Dhivehi, Islamic Studies) are graded by DPE on its own threshold scale: A*, A, B, C, D, E as pass grades and U (ungraded) as a fail, with the exact mark needed for each grade set separately for every exam series based on that sitting's results. The Cambridge IGCSE/O-Level subjects are graded by Cambridge International on their own scale (up to A*-G for IGCSE, A*-E for GCE O-Level, depending on the syllabus), using Cambridge's own grade thresholds for that series. There is no single combined "SSC result": a candidate's certificate lists a separate grade for every subject sat, local and Cambridge alike.
Important dates
DPE runs the combined SSC and Cambridge O-Level/IGCSE exams in windows timed around Cambridge International's own international exam series, mainly a February/March series and a May/June series, with some subjects also offered in the October/November series. For 2025, the main sitting began in April and continued into June, with results released some weeks after the last paper; DPE also opens a separate late-entry window, with its own fee schedule, after the main application period closes. Because exact opening dates, paper dates and results dates move from year to year, check DPE's current notices and timetables (dpe.edu.mv) for the sitting you are registering for rather than assuming a fixed month.
How to apply
School candidates do not apply themselves: their school registers them with DPE for the subjects it offers, as part of the normal Grade 10 entry process. Candidates who are not registered through a school (for example, repeat or external candidates) apply directly to DPE using its private-candidate application form, during the main application window or, for an extra fee, during the later late-entry window, and arrange their own exam fees for any subject that is not one of the four government-funded compulsory subjects.
After the exam
Students who complete Grade 10 and sit the SSC/O-Level exams can progress to two years of Higher Secondary education (Grades 11 and 12), leading to the GCE A-Level, at government higher-secondary centres such as the Centre for Higher Secondary Education (CHSE) in Malé and Hulhumalé, or at other schools offering A-Level. Admission requirements for A-Level have changed more than once in recent years; reports describe the Ministry of Education moving from requiring a pass in more than five O-Level subjects, to as few as three, toward a stated aim of letting every Grade 10 completer go on to A-Level. Because the rule has shifted, confirm the current year's A-Level entry requirement with your school or the Ministry of Education rather than assuming a fixed subject-count threshold. Students who do not continue to A-Level can instead move into vocational or technical training.
Preparation tips
Treat the four compulsory subjects, Dhivehi, Islamic Studies, English and Mathematics, as the non-negotiable core: they are compulsory for every candidate and government-funded, so there is no way around sitting them.
Check with your school early about which elective subjects it actually offers, since the elective list varies by school and affects what you can register for.
Practise with Cambridge's own past papers for your IGCSE/O-Level elective subjects, and with DPE's past papers and grade-threshold documents for the two local SSC subjects, since the local subjects are not covered by Cambridge's own resources.
If you are an external or repeat candidate, apply directly to DPE within the main application window where possible; late entry is usually available but at a higher fee.
If you already have a Higher Secondary stream or A-Level subjects in mind, check that stream's current O-Level entry requirement with your school before finalising your elective subjects.
FAQs
Is the SSC the same thing as the Cambridge O-Level in the Maldives?
Not exactly. The SSC proper is only two locally set subjects, Dhivehi language and Islamic Studies, marked by the Department of Public Examinations (DPE). DPE administers these together with Cambridge IGCSE/O-Level subjects, including the compulsory English and Mathematics papers, in the same Grade 10 sitting, so "SSC and O-Level" is normally talked about as one combined exam event even though the subjects are set by two different bodies.
Which subjects are compulsory for every student?
Four: Dhivehi language, Islamic Studies, English and Mathematics. The government funds the exam fees for these four. Every other subject is an elective chosen from what the candidate's own school offers under the Cambridge IGCSE/O-Level syllabus.
What grade do I need to pass?
Each subject gets its own letter grade (A* down to E as pass grades, with U or an equivalent fail grade below that), and the exact mark needed for each grade is set separately for every exam series. There is no single published combined pass mark for "the SSC" as a whole; check DPE's current grade-threshold documents for the subjects and series you sat.
What comes after the SSC and O-Level exams?
Students normally progress to two years of Higher Secondary education (Grades 11-12) leading to the GCE A-Level, at centres such as CHSE or another school offering A-Level. The exact O-Level result needed to be admitted to A-Level has changed in recent years, so confirm the current requirement with your school or the Ministry of Education before planning your elective subjects around a specific stream.