Saturday, December 31, 2011

PRINCIPALS, TEACHERS WANT GCE A/L RESULTS REVISED

  • 31 Dec 2011
  • Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka)
  • BY OLINDHI JAYASUNDERE

No transparency in calculation method

Ten education sector trade unions including principals and teachers charged that the formula used to calculate the GCE A/L Zscore was flawed and therefore urged the government to revise the results and issue it afresh.
Education Trade Union Alliance General Secretary Wasantha Dharmasiri told a news conference that there were several errors in the way the Zscore was calculated. “There has been no explanation as to how the old and new syllabuses were combined and the way in which it was calculated,” Mr. Dharmasiri said.
He displayed a formula sheet and said the number of children who sat the examination, the marks obtained the number of exams they sat for and other details were all vital in preparing the Z score. He said there was no transparency in how the Z-score was prepared and the mistake was visible.
“Even if the Education Ministry says these results are accurate, the people do not have any confidence in them. Therefore the Examination Department has to revise the results,” he said.
The unions vowed to take countrywide trade union action against the Education Ministry’s refusal to revise the A/L results.
The unions also charged that Education Minister Bandula Gunawardena had not taken responsibility for the grave blunders in the A/L results and should resign from his portfolio immediately.
“On Thursday the minister told a news conference that the reasons for the blunders in the A/L results were because of failures on the part of teachers who had refused to set the papers and mark them if their salary demands were not met. As teachers we are the first to be enthusiastic about our students. It is wrong for the minister to make such statements,” Sri Lanka National Principals’ Union General Secretary Mohan Weerasinghe said.
The unions that participated in the news conference included Ceylon Teachers Union, Educational Professionals Union Lanka Pragathi Teachers Union, Sri Lanka Jathika Principals Union, Grade One Ranking School Principals Union and Sri Lanka National Teachers Union.

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