A/L fiasco: Exams chief to be questioned tomorrow

The SundayTimes

As widespread protests continued, outgoing Examination Commissioner Anura Edirisinghe will tomorrow be questioned by the special five-member committee appointed to look into the crisis over the GCE Advanced Level examination results.

The committee which met on Friday heard evidence from Examinations Department officials including the Commissioners in charge of Evaluation and Examinations and computer programmers.
Mr. Edirisinghe who retires from his service today said the problems over the results had arisen because of a wrong entry by the computer programmer. “We do not have qualified programmers. That is why these problems occurred. The amount of money allocated to maintain a computer unit of this magnitude is also insufficient,” he said.
The committee appointed by President Mahinda Rajapaksa in the wake of public outcry over the mess in the results is headed by Dhara Wijetilalke, Secretary to the Ministry of Technology and Research.
Its other members are Colombo University Vice Chancellor Shanika Hirimburegama, Moratuwa University Vice Chancellor Ananda Jayawardene, Uva University Vice Chancellor Ranjith Premalal De Silva and Royal College Principal Upali Gunasekara. The Committee will present its report within the next two weeks.