O/L English examiners get an 'A' for bungling from student denied grade

A student of Visakha Vidyalaya who had been denied a grade A in the English paper of the GCE Ordinary Level exam in 2013, has successfully challenged the blundering examiners of the Department of Examinations in the Supreme Court, which has ruled in her favour.

The Supreme Court last week ruled that her result be amended.

Judges ruled that the student’s fundamental right to equality and equal protection of the law have been infringed.

The disappointed mother Chandrani Wijegunawardena and Kavitha Sadmini Weerasinghe had demanded re-scrutiny of the ‘B’ grade awarded to her, but examiners responded with the same result.

The mother then filed a complaint at the Human Rights Commission.

They also sought the intervention of the Supreme Court. The case No. 324/2015/STFR was filed in 2015.

The Commissioner of Examinations, Commissioner of Exam Evaluations, Commissioner as well as Assistant Commissioner of Inquiry, Education Minister and two others were named respondents.

The court ordered a re-evaluation by an independent team, which revealed that an essay had been awarded zero marks.

The court found that the student had answered the question well and it does not warrant ‘zero’ marks. The family of the student said she had obtained 74 marks and obtained a ‘B’ and that one more point awarded would have made her eligible for an ‘A’.

The student is now enrolled in a degree in bio-science claims.

She says she liked the English language and wanted to prove that the Examination Department had blundered.

The court ruling will be sent to the department next week.

The Ceylon Teachers Union said that the department should exercise caution, noting that “negligence of this magnitude can cost the academic future of a student’’.