NO REVISION OF A/L RESULTS

• 30 Dec 2011
• Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka)
• BY SANDUN A. JAYASEKERA

Committee to look into the rankings blunder

The Education Ministry said yesterday it would not review the controversial GCE A/L results despite requests and protests from various quarters.
Examinations Chief Anura Edirisinghe displaying a document at yesterday’s news conference in the presence of Ministers S.B. Dissanayake and Bandula Gunawardena. Pic by Pradeep Pathirana. Education Minister Bandula Gunawardena said President Mahinda Rajapaksa was expected to appoint a fivemember committee comprising a Supreme Court Judge, three Vice Chancellors and the Attorney General to look into the blunder by the Examinations Department when preparing the district rankings. The minister said the Z-score and the Island rankings were correct but admitted there was a mix-up in the district rankings.
He said none of the students had been affected due to this mistake as it had now been rectified.
The minister said there was no necessity to review or reissue the results as the web showed the correct results with the Z score and island and district rankings. The committee will recommend remedial measures to prevent a repetition of a similar mess-up, identify those responsible and al to recommend amendments to the Education Act. The minister said under no circumstances would he submit his resignation as what happened was a matter of collective responsibility and moreover such a tradition of resignation was non-existent in Sri Lanka’s political environment.
At a media conference held at the Examinations Department auditorium the minister was adamant in saying that the GCE A/L results released by the Examinations Department after revising the district rankings were correct.
“We are awaiting the observations and recommendations of this committee before taking any action against those responsible for the mess-up,” he said.

The minister said President Rajapaksa had spoken to him, Higher Education Minister S.B. Dissanayaka and education officials about the delay in releasing the 2011 GCE A/L results and urged them to speed up the process which eventually led to the technical blunder.
He said there was a conspiracy from several quarters mainly from a section of teachers to disrupt the 2011 GCE A/L examination and described it as an attempt to ruin the future of some 300,000 children.“it was a premeditated and a malicious act going on from June to disrupt the exam. At first, university lecturers said they would not mark A/L answer papers if their salary issue
was not resolved. Several teachers unions said they would take trade union action and would not participate in holding the exam if university teachers refused to mark answer papers. They wanted the payment for paper making increased though hundreds of teachers said they were prepared to mark answer scripts free-of-charge,” the minister said.
He said the Z score had been studied in-depth by a team of eminent professionals including university professors and ratified by the Supreme Court as the most appropriate method to select students to universities.
He said education and higher education ministries had consulted the Attorney General prior to the release of results and any student was free to apply for re-correction if he or she had the slightest of doubt about the validity of the results.

Presidential Comm. to probe GCE (A/L) results mess up

December 29, 2011, 10:02 pm , The Island.

By Dasun Edirisinghe

President Mahinda Rajapaksa would appoint a committee to probe the District ranking mess up of the GCE (A/L) examination results 2011, Education Minister Bandula Gunawardena said.

Addressing a packed media conference at the Examinations Department auditorium, Minister Gunawardena said that the committee would include three university Vice Chancellors and a retired judge.

The proposed committee would also make recommendations to amend the Examinations Act of 1968, he said.

"There are several things in the existing Act that need to be amended," Gunawardena said adding that it was to ensure consistency in rules and regulations, some of which now change with Ministers.

"For example, if some examination supervisor did something wrong the department could only sack her/him from exam duties according to the existing Act, but in future through amendments we hope to bring in some deterrent punishments as well," he said.

The Examinations Department released results after making ‘Z’–score by combining the old and new syllabuses according to the formula given by the experts committee including Prof. K. R. M. T. Karunaratne, Prof. Sarath Kulatunga, Prof. Sarath Peiris, Dr. Banneheka and Dr. Dilhari Atygalle, he said adding all were top statisticians of the country.

Assuring that GCE (A/L) results were 100% accurate and only the revised district ranks were issued a day after the release of the results, Gunawardena said that there was no need for anyone to resign as nothing serious had happened.

He said that the teacher trade unionists who were demanding rescrutiny of results were trying to sabotage exam duties and answer script evaluation, but it was unsuccessful.

"They threatened to boycott exam evaluation and duties from July," Gunawardena said adding that they were now trying to create a problem claiming that results were wrong.

He said that the ministry would not dance to their tune and the results would be not re–scrutinized.

However, students could apply for re-correction as usual as in other years, he said.

According to Gunawardena, last year too, 73,000 students applied for re–scrutiny of results.

Higher Education Minister S. B. Dissanayake, Deputy Minister of Education Vijithamuni Zoysa, Higher Education Secretary Dr. Sunil Jayantha Navaratne, Education Secretary H. M. Gunasekera, Commissioner General of Examinations Anura Edirisinghe and other ministry officials were present.

Summon parliament urgently to debate
GCE A/L Exam results fiasco - UNP

* President should take the blame for giving unwarranted directions – Ravi K

December 29, 2011, 10:05 pm , The Island.

by Zacki Jabbar

The UNP, while calling for parliament to be summoned urgently from its recess, to discuss the GCE Advanced Level Examination results fiasco, yesterday blamed President Mahinda Rajapaksa, since it was he who had directed the Education Ministry to expedite the release of the results.

Ravi Karunanayake MP, told The Island that as reported by the State media, Rajapaksa on realizing that it would take some time to finalise the ‘Z’-Scores had summoned the Education Minister and other officials and directed them to publish the results soon, despite the practical difficulties involved.

The Higher Education Minister S. B. Dissanayake has publicly admitted that the mix up in the district rankings had occurred due to the unwarranted pressure applied by people with "top connections" attempting to beat the deadline to get their children admitted to foreign universities, in case they did not obtain the required gradings locally, he said.

Akila Viraj Kariayawasam, MP, yesterday wrote to Prime Minister D. M. Jayaratne requesting him to ask the Speaker to re-summon parliament on January 14 ahead of the scheduled date of January 17, to debate the mix up in the A/L district gradings, which had led to frustration among many students.

Though technological issues have been blamed for the errors it was clear that the urgency with which the results were released had led to the mess, he said adding that in view of the contradictory views being expressed on a matter of utmost national importance, it was imperative that the highest legislative body in the country addressed the issue so that the mistakes could be rectified and repetitions avoided.

Undergraduates in sit-in-protest...

December 29, 2011, 10:22 pm , The Island.


Undergraduates in sit-in-protest opposite the Kelaniya University against the suspension of 13 of their colleagues over their alleged involvement in ragging freshers. They accused the University administration of targeting those campaigning for their rights.

Pic Dhammika Salwathura

Island rankings at 2011 GCE A/L’s

Thursday, 29 December 2011 14:48, Dailymirror.

The following students were ranked first second and third in the island rankings in their respective streams at the 2011 GCE Advanced Level Examination:

Bio-science: Pramith Shashinda Ruwanoathirana of Royal College, Colombo, Anandarajah Sanjayan of St. John’s College, Jaffna and Mohamed Saleem Fathima Shalidha of Fathima Muslim Ladies College Colombo.

Mathematics: Kamalakkannan Kamalavasan of J/Uduppidy American Mission College, Valvettithurai, Nushen Manithya Seneviratna of Royal College, Colombo and Dadallage Amila Ruwansiri Silva, of Dharmaraja Vidyalaya, Kandy.

Commerce: Gamage Ishara Dilhani of Debarawewa M.W.V., Tissamaharama, Ravindu Supun Liyange of Richmond Vidyalaya, Galle and Osanda Lakshana Amarasinghe of Visakha B.M.V., Colombo.

Arts: Senanayake Achchillage Sachinthani Kaushalya Senanayake of St, Joseph’s B.M.V., Kegalle, Hiniduma Liyange Chamindri Umesha of Southlands Vidyalaya, Galle and Elluppiti Mudiyanselage Janani Chandimali Perera of Newstead Balika Mahavidyalaya, Negombo.

Other streams: Kerawgodage Don Anoukh Ashley Jayawardena of St. Joseph’s College Colombo, Konithigoda Kankanamage Tharindu Prabath Ranathunga of Anuradhapura M.M.V., and Iresha Dilhani Rubasinghe of Visakha B.M.V., Colombo

GCE A/L FIASCO: CRISIS INTENSIFIES

• 29 Dec 2011
• Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka)
• BY SANDUN A. JAYASEKERA AND OLINDHI JAYASUNDERE

Teachers union complains to Human Rights Commission

The controversy over the GCE A/L results further intensified yesterday with trade unions and others in the education sector urging a total review of the Z-score and Island and District rankings.
They said students, parents and unions were not prepared to accept the results that were released on Monday with some unions having complained to the Human Rights Commission and even threatening to take the matter to the Supreme Court to seek for justice. A PMPS activist seen at the protest.
Pic by Kithsiri De Mel. They are demanding the immediate resignation of Education Minister Bandula Gunawardane and Examinations Commissioner General Anura Edirisinghe saying the national education system had never before experienced a setback of this magnitude.
Several ministers and government MPS also expressed their anger and displeasure over the blunders and said those responsible should submit their resignation without embarrassing the government any further as it had now turned out to be a national issue.
Meanwhile, the People’s Movement for the Protection of Schools (PMPS) yesterday staged a protest opposite ‘Isurupaya’ at Battaramulla that the Z score and the Island and District rankings be suspended.

PMPS spokesman Aruna Dissanayaka said the education authorities must withdraw the controversial GCE A/L results and review, reassess and reissue the correct Z score and the Island and District rankings.
“The parents and students have no confidence at all on the Z score and Island and District rankings. Therefore, immediate steps must be taken to review the entire process and release the correct Z score and rankings. If they fail to do so we will launch an islandwide campaign and tell students and parents not to accept the results already released,” Mr. Dssanayaka said.
Ceylon Teachers Services Union President Mahinda Jayasinghe said his union had lodged a complaint with the Human Rights Commission and would file a petition in the Supreme Court if the issue was not resolved by January 5.
“We demand the resignation of Education Minister Bandula Gunawardana and Examination scommissioner Anura Edirisighe because they have failed to release the results our members so painstakingly and carefully marked,” Mr. Jayasinghe said and added that the marked scripts had to be re-assessed and the correct an error-free Z score and Island and District rankings be issued.
Another protest organised by the Inter-university Student Federation (IUSF) was held outside the Fort Railway Station with the participation of hundreds of A/L students, their parents as well as university students. The angry protesters threatened to continue their protests through out the island until the Edu
cation Ministry fulfilled their request for complete review of the results. “This is only the beginning of our fight to get the government to listen to us. They say they will not revise the A/L results. But if they don’t we will continue our trade union action until the results are thoroughly studied and verified. We cannot and will not accept these results,” IUSF Convener Sanjeewa Bandara said. Meanwhile, Education Minister Bandula Gunawardana was abroad and there was no responsible official at the Education Ministry or the Examinations Department to be contacted by the media.

Messing-up Examination Results

December 28, 2011, 7:38 pm , The Island.


Is the GCE Advanced Level results fiasco the latest of the government’s spiraling mismanagement of education? I received an official text message on Sunday afternoon informing that the GCE A/L results were available on the web. Although I do not have anyone known to me who sat for the GCE A/L examination this year and is awaiting results, I for an unknown reason checked the website and found no results were on display. It was not difficult to imagine the disappointment of the candidates and their parents and teachers who were eagerly waiting by that time for results to be out. And the disappointment is not for the first time! Ministers, deputy ministers and examination department officials had reiterated many a time in the last two to three weeks that GCE A/L results would be released soon. Finally Sunday night, results were on the web but with so many mistakes. The Minister of Higher Education informed the public through electronic media Monday night that the results were released hurriedly because the President Mahinda Rajapaks scolded them all for delaying results. That was the Minister’s explanation for incorrectness in calculation of district and national ranks.Joseph Stalin, a very attentive General Secretaryof the Ceylon Teachers Union said that "district ranks and countrywide ranks of the students of most districts could not be accepted as they were contradictory". He gave a clear example and informed that "the District ranks of two students who had obtained B, B and C in the same subjects were 369 and 144. Their country ranks were 4,113 and 4,649. The district ranks of two other students with B, C and C in the same subjects were 278 and 405" (The Island, December 27, 2011).

This is not an isolated incident since the examination related issues such as errors in question papers at many levels were reported by media in the recent past. Now, the same has happened in case of the GCE A/L Examination that is generally considered, rightly or wrongly, as the most important turning point in students’ life. Hence, the generation of suspicion over the examination results on the part of the students, teachers, parents and general public is unavoidable and quite legitimate. As Stalin noted, the contradictory statements issued by the Education Minister, Higher Education Minister, Examinations Department and University Grants Commission had naturally added to the feeling of distrust and misgiving of the people not only directly affected but also others. Last Monday, I met some parents, teachers and students and they all expressed their mistrust over the examination system.A teacher came up with an interesting observation. She told me that these things are done deliberately so that the government can find an excuse to privatize holding examinations and releasing results. One may argue that this must be the immediate reaction so that mistrusts expressed may be disproportionate. However, it is not impossible to spread the mistrust as a contagion. Addressing a media conference at the Kelaniya University, Inter University Students Federation demanded the cancellation of results and re-evaluation of the answer scripts.Hence, it is imperative to correct this situation and prevent the occurrence and recurrence of this kind of mistakes in future. However, when a suspicion over the system is established, it would be really difficult to get rid of it as it spreads like a cancer in the system. Akila Viraj Kariyawasam, the UNP MP for Kurunegala district, has informed us that "this was not the first time the present commissioner [of Examinations] had messed up the results".He blamed, in my view justifiably, the Department of Examination for incompetency. As Stalin has pointed out, occurrence of a similar event in a democratic country would have forced the respective Ministers and officials to resign voluntarily. It is also strange to note that in spite of the fact that a limited area of work has been assigned to each minister because of the unprecedented size of the cabinet, the intervention of the President has now become a general practice for the resolution of problems.

In my view, a serious surgery is needed to correct the situation, to avoid its recurrence and to remove the deep rooted mistrust over the system. The surgery should be invariably preceded by a correct diagnosis. Akila Viraj Kariyawasam is correct in saying that the examination mess-up or a delay of issuing results cannot be attributed to the existence of two syllabi, old and new. It was known to the examination department and to the UGC. This demonstrates that the absence of prior planning and the projection of possible complexities. Minister Bandula Gunawardene informed Parliament a few weeks ago that he could not understand the seven line formula of Z score. Of course, the minister cannot be blamed for his failure to understand such a technical detail. Minsters are to decide on general policy framework. The formulation of Z-score and other calculation details should be assigned to experts who have knowledge on such technical matters. It seems to me that there is an over-politicization of things so that even pure technical matters are addressed by people who do not possess necessary knowledge and technical capacities. This happened when appointments are done on political basis and the services are extended for political reasons in spite of incompetency. Now politicians have become technical experts and technical experts act as politicians. This over-politicization is extremely dangerous when it happens in subject areas like education and health.

What are immediate corrective measures that can be taken up? I submit that impartial and independent review committee should be appointed to look into the entire procedure of preparation of results. The nominees or representatives from the Federation of University Teachers Association (FUTA), Ceylon Teachers Union and Inter-University Student Federation should be included. The committee should also include experts on statistics and computer programming who have the knowledge and capacity to revisit Z score formula, and the way in which it was programmed. Most importantly, the officials who are at present working in the Department of Education and the UGC should not be included in the committee. The findings of the committee should be made available to the public in all three languages. I believe that this submission would be more fruitful than the idea expressed at the press conference of the Ministry of Higher Education on Tuesday. At the press conference it was told that individual candidates would be allowed to get their results reviewed. This will be not only a messy idea but also it would place candidates in a difficult situation.

What I have suggested is only a corrective measure. However, the surgery should include much more than this immediate step. I firmly believe that the government should revisit its entire policy framework on education and higher education since it lacks proper perspective and projection to make Sri Lanka a knowledge hub of Asia.

The writer teaches political economy at the University of Peradeniya.

E-mail: sumane_l@yahoo.com

NTC wants A/L results suspended

December 28, 2011, 10:09 pm , The Island.

By Cyril Wimalasurnedre

KANDY – The President of the National Teachers’ Council (Jathika Guru Sabha) Nimal Premawansa told a news conference in Kandy on Tuesday (27) that the results of the GCE A Level Examination, released by the Examinations Department, should be suspended forthwith.

Those who messed up the examination results should vacate their posts, Premawansa said.

The results of the CGE A Level examination were in a mess. "The poor students numbering over 295,000, their parents and their teachers are in a confused state of mind due to the mess created in the results released by the Examination Department, "Nimal Premawansa said.

The officers of the Department of Examination, who released the results after much pressure, as well as the ministers in charge of the education of the country were responsible for the chaos, Premawansa said.

The officers as well as the five ministers— three ministers of education and the two ministers of Higher Education, should take the responsibility and vacate their posts, the former parliamentarian told the media representatives in Kandy.

Premawansa said that the responsibility for teducation should come under the direct supervision of President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

He also said the ‘Z’ score method should be abandoned and a more simple method that people could understand for university admission followed. The confusion was created by those elements who crept into the government at a later stage to bring disrepute to the government.

The education and examination authorities were aware that this year’s AL examination was conducted under two syllabuses but the authorities were not prepared to the change, he said adding that the best solution at the moment was to withdraw the results released.

Vice President of the Teachers’ Council G.I.N. Bandara and Executive member Ven. Watagamuwe Ananda were present.

Ragging would be stopped in all Universities - SB

Some university teachers blamed for supporting ragging

December 28, 2011, 9:51 pm , The Island.

by Dasun Edirisinghe

Higher Education Minister S. B. Dissanayake lashed out at some sections of the university teachers who condemned the suspension of the Peradeniya University’s Students’ Council and Faculty Student Unions recently.

Addressing a media conference at the University Grants Commission (UGC) on Tuesday, an angry minister said that the blame lay especially with the arts faculty teachers’ union which officially issued statements against the suspension.

"The university administration had to suspend all student unions in Peradeniya for organizing protests and conducting severe ragging on freshers," he said adding that "university teachers too must have been aware of severe ragging, but they didn’t condemn it."

As a result of inhuman ragging, a student who was severely tortured mentally by senior students, was still warded in the Kandy hospital and another student of Ruhuna University, had her spinal cord damaged during ragging, and was transferred to the Colombo National Hospital from the Matara hospital. She was still warded, Dissanayake said.

He said that the university teachers, including the President of the Federation of University Teachers Associations (FUTA), blamed the government for banning student unions claiming that it was a human rights violation, "but why can’t they see the human rights violations which were committed by senior students on their first year colleagues?"

The students had organised a protest march from Peradeniya to Colombo and on the same day the so called student leaders assaulted Prof. Hennayake while he was conducting lectures. They assaulted even a security officer who attempted to prevent the attack, Dissanayake said.

"If a student is against ragging, he or she cannot go to the library and take part in cultural events. They are not allowed to go to the canteen too," Dissanayake said and asked why those teachers couldn’t see hundreds of students having their meals under trees or on benches due to senior students not permitting them to go to the canteen.

He said that they had stopped ragging in 15 out of 17 universities. There were incidents of ragging still in the Ruhuna and the Peradeniya Universities and that too would be stopped at any cost.

UGC Chairman Gamini Samaranayake said that according to the University Act they had the power to suspend Student Unions.

Private University  Act ready soon

December 28, 2011, 9:31 pm , The Island.


by Dasun Edirisinghe

The Ministry of Higher Education plans to present a new bill titled ‘Quality Assurance Accreditation and Qualification Framework Bill’ which is popularly known as ‘Private University Act’ in parliament as soon as possible.

Minister S. B. Dissanayake told a media conference on Tuesday that the Cabinet of ministers had already approved the draft bill and it would be tabled in the House after it received clearance from the Legal Draftsman’s Department.

He said that a section of politically motivated undergraduates had misled the public claiming that the ministry was going to establish private universities once the new bill became legal, but it was not the truth.

"There are 29 private universities already functioning in the country as Board of Investment projects for the last nine years," he said.

Some of those institutions provide substandard education for very high fees, he claimed.

Some institutions offered three-month diplomas, six-month higher diplomas, one-year degrees and three-year post graduate degrees, but those institutions were not functioning under the University Grants Commission (UGC).

"We will regularize those institutions under the new Act," he said.

Dissanayake said that under the new act, the ministry would introduce new rules and regulation for those institutions to enhance the quality of education.

He said BoI had issued licenses to 51 institutions, but currently only 29 were functioning and most of the institutions had to close down due to their poor quality.

They would also enforce a rule that scholarships must be given to 20% of the students who did not get selected to the government universities, the Minister said.

Higher Education Secretary Dr. Sunil Jayantha Navaratne said that the new Act would not be a threat to the free education system, but it would increase the annual intake of students to universities.