Minister of Education Susil Premajayantha says that it is expected to simplify the 5th grade scholarship examination than the current situation.
From the coming year, several major changes are to be made in the existing education system and under that, it has been decided to take this step.
The minister said that priority will be given to measure the students’ literacy and numeracy skills
The Minister made these comments while participating in the ceremony held at the Ministry of Education premises for the evaluation of the students who obtained the highest marks in the fifth grade scholarship examination held in 2023 and the students who appeared for the General Certificate of Education O/L Examination held in 2022.
Giving further details here, the minister mentioned that in the future, students will not be evaluated based on getting 100% marks in the exams.
The minister also pointed out that students should get 30% of the marks obtained in the fifth grade scholarship exam as well as 30% of the marks obtained in the evaluations conducted in the classroom in the 4th and 5th grades, and for this the continuous attendance of the students should be maintained.
The minister emphasized that some parents may criticize that the teachers will be biased, but there is no room for such situations, and above all, it is important to build a clear trust in the teachers between the parents and the students.
The minister also points out that school boards monitor how students are evaluated in classrooms in schools.
He said that even in Finland, which is recognized as a country with the best education, only classroom-level assessments are used in schools until the 9th grade, and that school students are evaluated by exams from the 9th grade.
Here, 20 students who scored the highest marks from the entire island in the GCE O/L Examination held in 2022 and 20 students who scored the highest marks in the fifth grade scholarship examination were evaluated.
