2 lessons on facing national exams from Sri Lanka and South Korea

GCE (O/L) and (A/L) students who face these competitive exams undergo a lot of physical as well as psychological hardships. Even parents and siblings are stressed out.

This month, approximately 688,573 candidates are qualified to sit the examination. Accordingly 429,493 school candidates and 259,080 private candidates would sit the examination this year, under both the old and new syllabuses at 5116 centres countrywide.

A section of society who are most concerned about making the students pass the examinations with colours are the tuition masters. Their underlying agenda is to earn more money within the shortest period of time. They even resort to underhand practices to obtain the question papers or know the questions beforehand by bribing the staff of the Department.

These tuition ‘boutiques’ have mushroomed throughout the country and now the tuition masters have become big businessmen. The Ministry or civil societies and intellectuals in society should supervise and control them.

Parents, elder siblings and teachers of the GCE (O/L) and (A/L) students should ensure their children and younger siblings do not resort to unethical practices to pass the exam with good marks. They should self-study or select genuine tutors to improve their weak subjects. Greater commitment and sacrifices are necessary to pass national examinations which will help them to enter universities and other professional bodies for higher education.

We must learn from South Korea when it comes to national examinations. The support to education from the authorities is immense.

State buses are kept as standby to take the students to Examination Centres while extra-ordinary measures are taken to ensure nothing disturbs the students. All take-offs and landing at South Korean Airports are suspended for 35 minutes to coincide with an English Listening test, and all planes in the air must maintain an altitude higher than 3000 metres (10,000 ft). 98 flights including 36 international flights are rescheduled for the duration of this exam.

Public offices, major businesses and the stock market open an hour later than usual to help ease traffic and ensure students arrive on time for the exam.

Students who are stuck in traffic can get Police cars and motor bikes to rush them to exam centres.

Outside test centres in Seoul, junior students wave banners and shout words of encouragement as candidates enter the examinations centres.

I urge the present Minister of Education and Higher Education and all others involved in the education sector to prioritise national examinations and extend support to the student population. A. W. Abdulkany

Panadura