President Maithripala Sirisena said he endorses the decision taken by the government to do away with the Grade 5 scholarship examination. He said according to statistics only 12 to 13 percent of the children who passed the Grade 5 scholarship examination gained admission to universities while more than 85 percent of the students who qualified to enter universities were those who failed the Grade 5 examination.
Even though he never hoped to belittle children who passed the Grade 5 examination, this factor should be explained to students who failed the examination in the context of the competition and mentality involved regarding the examination.
The President was addressing the Colombo district seminar of the Daruwan Surakimu national program held at the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium Complex, Colombo recently.