Parents protest hike in Grade 5 exam cutoff mark

Parents yesterday expressed concern over the raising of Grade 5 scholarship exam cutoff mark by the government.

They complained that if the cutoff marks continue to increase, their children will have to work that much harder to get into a school of their choice, and that it is unfair by the students.

Dhammika Abeysinghe is one of the parents protesting against the Education Ministry’s stand. “My son was able to secure 178 marks at the scholarship exam, which qualifies him for admission to Ananda College, Nalanda College or D. S. Senanayake College in the 2009, 2010 and 2011,” he said.

Now, his son, a student of Boys Model School, Malabe, has not got any of these schools as a result of the increase in cutoff marks, which simultaneously decrease the number of students admitted to popular schools through the 2013 scholarship exam.

A group of affected parents launched a protest in front of the Education Ministry, Battaramulla, demanding the government look into the matter as “children’s lives are in the dark”.

Mr. Abeysinghe, who was also among the parents, said that there are students who failed to get into a ‘popular school’ even after securing more than 160 marks. This year’s pass mark was 70. Students who obtained this mark and above were each given a certificate from the government, certifying their success at the scholarship exam in 2013.

This was not enough to keep the parents content, who continued with their demand for a recognised school for their children.

“We try our utmost to help our son to excel at the scholarship exam, so that, he could get into a good school with good facilities and a good environment to study. With the going rate we believe that conditions will become even worse in the future. We need concerned authorities to provide a favourable solution to this soon,” said Mr Sarath, whose son is attending Prince of Wales, and will be sitting for the exam this year.

Expressing his views, Lanka Teacher Services Union General Secretary Mahinda Jayasinghe said that the cutoff marks were increased in order to take less students into ‘popular schools’. “Places meant for students who worked hard to get into these schools, were given to children of politicians and their friends. This is very unfair,” he said. Mr Jayasinghe explained that all parents, especially from rural areas, try very hard to educate their children, so that, they will gain entry into these schools.

“After Grade 1 admission, their next option is the scholarship exam. When vacancies are filled from Grade 2 to 5, through political influence, the deserving children are left helpless,” he said.

Meanwhile, Royal College Principal, Upali Gunasekara, said that the number of students admitted to Royal College is the same as last year. “We will be enrolling about 150 students this year, which was the same as last year. However, the number of students we take in is subject to the cutoff mark and how the students fared in it,” he said.