O/Level exam centres to be offered for students abroad

Sri Lankan students living overseas will be able to sit for the GCE ( Ordinary Level) Examination at examination centres to be set up in selected countries from next year, a senior official said.

Commissioner General of Examinations Sanath Pujitha said six countries had been selected, but this number could be higher after plans are finalised. Countries selected so far are Doha- Qatar, Oman, India, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Iran, while the United Kingdom and Canada are other countries that are being considered. Initially, the programme will be launched in one or two countries.

The proposal was approved by then Education Minister Akila Viraj Kariyawasam and is now likely to be implemented with the former government being restored.

Mr Pujitha said that the Examinations Department was working with the Foreign Ministry and Education Ministry to implement the proposal. He said in Doha- Qatar there were 1,750 students in a school, of which the majority were Sri Lankans who had shown an interest in sitting for the O/L Examination.

He said the Department had previously conducted exams at a refugee camp in Chennai for three years.

The Examinations Department will send teams from Sri Lanka to conduct the examination in the selected centres, while the respective missions will be involved in coordinating the arrangements.

The students will have to apply as private candidates.