Exams put off to allow time to cover syllabus
The GCE Advanced Level (A/L) and Grade 5 scholarship examinations due in November have been put off for an unspecified date to allow enough time for the syllabuses to be covered.
The National Institute of Education ( NIE) is now conducting a study on how prepared the students are to sit for the exams, Examination Commissioner Sanath Pujitha said, announcing the decision this week.
“An observation is being made by officials through the provincial and zonal directors on the percentage of syllabuses completed and how prepared the students are to sit exams,” Mr. Pujitha said.
He added that applications to sit the examinations had been flooding in online and that the work stoppages by teachers and principals – who normally process applications – in pursuit of extra pay had not deterred most applicants. September 15 was the closing date for applications.
“Around 98 per cent of Advanced Level students and 85 per cent of Grade 5 students have applied,” Commissioner Pujitha said.
The results of the 2020 O/L examination were released on Thursday, with 423,746 schoolchildren and 198,606 private students accessing their results online.
Practical exams for aesthetic studies were not held due to school closures during the pandemic and the continuing teachers' strike, which started in July, in support of pay rises. About 170,000 students are awaiting practical tests in eight aesthetic studies.
The Commissioner said the practical exams would be held as soon as schools reopened and that arrangements would be made to release those results early.
The Education Ministry announced on Friday that schools that have fewer than 200 children would be opened soon following a green light from the health authorities.
Education Ministry Secretary Professor Kapila Perera said the compounds and classrooms of the 5131 schools concerned are to be cleaned up for reopening, with extra sinks being installed for regular handwashing in keeping with COVID guidelines.
The Ceylon Teachers Union (CTU) claims no funding allocation has been made for preparing the schools for reopening.
CTU General Secretary Joseph Stalin expressed disappointment that no solution had been reached to settle pay demands which have led to teachers withdrawing their services from online teaching programmes aimed at providing children with regular learning during shutdowns.
“It has been over two months since we started our protest. We’ll continue till our demands are met,” Mr. Stalin said.
Education Ministry Secretary Professor Kapila Perera said the compounds and classrooms of the 5131 schools concerned are to be cleaned up for reopening, with extra sinks being installed for regular handwashing in keeping with COVID guidelines.