Former Chancellor Estimates MVR 600 Million Cost for Air-Conditioning Classrooms

The cost of airconditioning all classrooms in the Maldives would cost MVR 600 million, according to Hassan Hameed, the former chancellor of the Maldives National University.

The Education Ministry announced this month that the government would install air-conditioning units in all nations across the country with help of the community in two years.

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In a detailed post on his personal blog, Hassan Hameed provided a comprehensive breakdown of the project’s requirements. His analysis included a cost-benefit assessment and a feasibility study on the potential use of solar power for the air-conditioning units.

Hassan estimated the capital costs of air conditioning the classrooms to be around MVR 600 million. This comprises of MVR 470 million to close off classrooms, with an additional MVR 130 million required for equipment, wiring, and installation of the air-conditioning units.

Hassan is an experienced school administrator with a background in science education. He was the founding rector of Maldives College of Higher Education and served as Vice Chancellor and Chancellor the MNU since it’s founding in 2011.

Using his experience with university classroom energy costs, he projected that running air-conditioning units in 15 classrooms per school would cost approximately MVR 795,000 in electricity annually. Scaling this to the 212 schools across the nation, he estimated the total annual electricity bill would rise to MVR 168 million.

Furthermore, he calculated that an additional MVR 10.5 million would be necessary each year for repairs, maintenance, and replacements, bringing the recurrent annual costs of the project to an estimated MVR 178 million.

In his feasibility study, Hassan explored the option of using solar energy to power the air-conditioning units. He estimated that operating costs with solar power would be MVR 330 million, noting that the initial installation costs of the solar systems would be even higher.

Highlighting the pros and cons, Hassan expressed concerns that closed-off classrooms could negatively impact students’ mental health and concentration due to high carbon dioxide levels and reduced natural light. He pointed out that the significant expense could strain the state budget, potentially diverting funds from other educational improvements such as teacher training and enhancing science laboratories.

As an alternative, Hassan proposed exploring innovative classroom designs to minimise direct sunlight penetration through doors and windows, potentially reducing the need for extensive air-conditioning.