A/L crisis goes to Supreme Court

Sixteen GCE A/L students and the Ceylon Teach

ers’ Union (CTU) yesterday filed fundamental rights violation petitions in the Supreme Cour t challenging the formula applied on the 2011 GCE A/L Examination to calculate the Z-score.

The petitioners said the erroneous and unjustifiable application of the formula had caused a gross distor tion of the examination results.

Examinations Commissioner General W.M.N.J. Pushpakumara, Education Minister Bandula Gunawardene, Peradeniya University Professor R.O. Thattiland and the Attorney General were cited as respondents.

The petitioners alleged that their fundamental rights to equality and equal protection of the law had been violated and sought Cour t to declare null and void the August 2011 GCE A/L results and the Z-scores.

They are asking the Cour t to direct that the Z-scores of the candidates be calculated according to the accepted statistical norms and principles, and to calculate the Z-score of a subject on the premise that the new syllabus and the old syllabus are separate from each other. They are also asking the Cour t to direct the respondents to reissue the results to all the candidates after correcting the errors as regards the Z-score and other shor tcomings.

The petitioners are seeking the Cour t to make an appropriate interim order suspending any fur ther step with regard to university admission, until the final determination of this application. They are asking Cour t to make an order calling for all the documentation, records and repor ts per taining to the calculation of the Z-score contained in the official results of the GCE A/L Examination released on December 30 and to award compensation to the petitioners as determined by the Cour t.

They said until 1999, the selection of students for admission to Universities and other higher educational institutions were based on the aggregate marks obtained by the candidates at the GCE A/L Examination.

During this period, every subject stream, namely Biological Science, Mathematics, Commerce and Ar ts contained four (4) subjects and therefore, a candidate had to sit for four (4) separate question papers.