Annul A/L results and re-calculate-SC

Dailymirror

The Court also ordered the UGC to comply with the Universities Act and to take steps to calculate the Z-Scores on the basis that the Old Syllabus and the New Syllabus were distinct from each other.

Chief Justice Shirani A.Bandaranayake with Justices N.G. Amaratunga and K. Sripavan agreeing also ordered the UGC to take steps to re-issue the Z-Scores to the candidates who sat the 2011 GCE A/L Examination  after correcting the errors and shortcomings and to do so without delay.

The Court said it was not within the purview of this application to correct the validity of the results that had been released with regard to the 2011 GCE A/L examination and in the absence of any valid material the Court would not interfere with the results of this exam.

It said that because the UGC had treated the two categories of students who sat the examination under a single section the UGC had violated the petitioners’ fundamental rights to equality and equal protection of the law.

Sixteen GCE A/L students and the Ceylon Teachers’ Union filed the fundamental rights violation petition citing Examinations Chief W.M.N.J. Pushpakumara, Education Minister Bandula Gunawardene, Peradeniya University Professor R.O. Thattil and the Attorney General as respondents.(SSS)

Undergrads to add to govt. woes

June 25, 2012, 9:37 pm 

by Dasun Edirisinghe, the island

Undergraduates will launch a new protest campaign against the government’s delay in solving the problems of university non academic staff who are currently on an indefinite strike demanding rectification of their salary anomalies.

Convener of the Inter University Students Federation Sanjeewa Bandara told The Island that the academic calendar, including examinations were completely paralysed due to the strike started on June 06.

"Examinations in most universities have been postponed due to the strike and undergraduate have to wait months to sit them," he said.

Bandara said that as it was the academic calendar was late by two or three years. The current situation would add to the backlog in the universities.

"All degree programmes got delayed by three months when university teachers launched a trade union action last year. This strike too entered its 20th day today", he said.

According to him they would support the trade union action and the government should meet their demands immediately to stop it.

Bandara said university teachers too planned to start a strike from July 04 and the situation would become worse if the government did not provide immediate solution.

UGC asked to calculate Z-score separately for two syllabi

June 25, 2012, 9:56 pm 

By Chitra Weerarathne, the island

The Supreme Court yesterday declared null and void the August 2011 GCE (A/L) examination Z-score. The judgement said that there was a complex question as regards the Z-score calculated on the basis of the old syllabus and the new syllabus taken together.

The second respondent, the University Grants Commission, was directed to comply with Section 15 (Vii) of the Universities Act No. 16 of 1978, as amended and to take necessary and relevant steps to recalculate the Z-score marks of the candidates who sat the GCE (A/L) examination in August 2011, according to accepted methods.

The main issue, in the fundamental rights violation application, was the calculation of the Z-score. Therefore, it was not within the purview of the application to consider the validity of the raw results that had been released. Further, in the absence of any cogent material, the Supreme Court would not interfere in the results of the AL Examination, the judgment said.

The Court ruled that a complex question had arisen due to the treatment of the two syllabi as a single population. That was incorrect, it said.

Judgement said: "Although there is no specific provision dealing with the right to education in our Constitution as such, in the Universal declaration of Human Rights, the said right has been accepted and the right has been acknowledged by our Courts, through the provisions of Article 12 (1) of the Constitution. In doing so, the Supreme Court, has not only considered that the right to education has been accepted as a fundamental human right but also accepted the value of education, which has been described by James A. Garfield as next in importance to freedom and justice. Without education, neither freedom nor justice can be permanently maintained.

Since the UGC had taken steps to treat the two categories of students who sat for the New and Old syllabi as a single population, wherein, they clearly belong to two distinct populations, the UGC violated the petitioners’ fundamental right to freedom from arbitrary treatment guaranteed in Article 12 (1) of the Constitution of Sri Lanka."

The Court accepted the view of the petitioners that the students had not been previously informed of the pooling of the two syllabi. More than half the population that sat the AL in August 2011, comprised students who followed the new syllabus.

J. C. Weliamuna appeared with Sanjeewa Ranaweera for the petitioner students and the petitioner Teacher Trade Union.

Faiz Mustapha PC, appeared with Kushan De Alwis, Kaushalya Nawaratne and Faizer Marker for the second respondent the University Grants Commission.

Senior State Counsel Nevin Pulle appeared with State Counsel Suren Gnanaraj for the Minister of Education the first respondent. Fifth respondent, Professor R. O. Thatill appeared for himself.

The Judgement was by the Chief Justice Dr. Shirani Bandaranayake with Justice N. G. Amaratunga and Justice K. Sripavan agreeing.

Z-score declared null and void

August 2011 GCE (A/L) results:

June 25, 2012, 9:49 pm 

Calls for Bandula and SB to resign

By Dasun Edirisinghe, the island

Soon after the Supreme Court ordered the University Grants Commission (UGC) to annul the 2011 GCE (A/L) examination Z-score calculation and to recalculate the score separately for the old and new syllabi, education sector trade unionists, students and civil society organisations called for the immediate resignation of ministers S. B. Dissanayake and Bandula Gunawardena from their portfolios of higher education and education respectively.

"This Supreme Court order is a victory not only for the students but also for the entire nation," Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa, National Organiser of the JVP affiliated Socialist Students’ Union said. The order for the UGC to annul the ‘Z-score’ calculation 2011 and re-calculate Z-scores for both old and new syllabi separately and issue the results soon was most welcome at a time when ministers and some officials had done their utmost to destroy public trust in the country’s examination system, he said.

General Secretary of the Ceylon Teachers Service Union Mahinda Jayasinghe said that since December 26, 2011, the day the results of the last GCE (A/L) examination were released, the progressive forces of the country had rejected the results as they were erroneous. "We within two days called for its cancellation and re-calculation of the marks obtained by candidates. Then, these two ministers and their officials made the greatest possible effort to defend those flawed results. They said that there had been slight aberration in district ranking system and that could be rectified. They went to the extent of criticising and blaming us for pointing out the mistakes."

National Organiser of the People’s Movement for the Protection of Schools Dhammika Alahapperuma called the Supreme Court order a historic victory for future generation of Sri Lanka. "We call upon Ministers Bandula Gunawardena and S. B. Dissanayake to resign and go home if they have even an iota of shame left in them."