In Sri Lanka, the whole concept of education seems to be based on three main examinations – the Scholarship Examination (Year 5), the GCE Ordinary Level (O/L) Examination (Grade 11) and GCE Advanced Level (A/L) Examination (Year 13).
These are highly competitive examinations that can actually decide on the future trajectory of a student. Needless to say, parents are even more keen on these examinations than the children themselves, as parents have big dreams and ambitions about their offspring. There is also a huge tuition industry that revolves round these three examinations – in fact, preparations for the Scholarship Examination start from around Year 3.
The very competitive nature of these examinations imparts a fair degree of pressure on the students to somehow pass them, lest they incur the wrath of parents and teachers. In fact, there are many instances where children who had failed the examinations have taken their lives, unable to bear the constant berating of their parents.
This pressure is almost unbearable for children aged 10-11 who sit the Scholarship Examination, seen as a magic ticket to big and popular schools in the cities from Year 6. This examination has perhaps even more competitive than the other two examinations to the point where tuition masters try to guess the questions in advance for the benefit of their students. Last time, though, things went a bit too far and some of the actual questions were leaked beforehand.
Burden on young minds
This led to a debate as to whether the examination should be held again in a more secure manner. On the other hand, many educationists held the opinion that it would be a great burden on these young minds and that it would be advisable to award full marks for those questions for all candidates.
It transpired earlier last week that the Attorney General had informed the Supreme Court that the Cabinet of Ministers has recommended not to re-conduct the Grade 5 Scholarship Examination taking into consideration the mental stress students would undergo and the adverse effects it would have on the scheduled examination calendar. Solicitor General Viraj Dayaratne appearing for the Attorney General submitted to Court that the Cabinet of Ministers has further recommended awarding three marks to each student who sat the 2024 Grade 5 Scholarship Examination as a solution to the three leaked questions.
Solicitor General Dayaratne said so when three Fundamental Rights (FR) petitions filed by several students and their parents, seeking to cancel the Grade 5 Scholarship Examination, were taken up before the Supreme Court.
Dayaratne told the Court that a Cabinet memorandum, submitted by Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya, in her capacity as the Education Minister outlined the Government’s position, indicating that three marks could be allocated for each student concerning the three disputed questions.
While the final verdict on this case is yet to be given, the interim decision taken last week is a fair solution to the woes of students. Besides, conducting the examination again would be a logistical nightmare and a costly exercise. It will also send the examination schedule into another tailspin, after it was turned upside down by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The pandemic disrupted every facet of life, but perhaps the biggest impact was felt in the sphere of education. Classes for all grades were not held for nearly two years, with all schools and universities told to conduct online classes. But only a certain segment of the four-million student population benefited from this switch as many students had no access to the devices and 4G signals.
The pandemic threw a spanner into the wheel of school term tests and national examinations, from which it has still not fully recovered. Rescheduling even one examination has a spillover effect on the other ones. It could derail plans to hold all national examinations according to the scheduled timeframes, as carried out prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. All national examinations are planned to be held as per their usual schedules from 2025.
Good news
This is good news for all students, parents and teachers preparing for the upcoming examinations. The postponement of the examinations resulted in many parents and students opting for foreign alternatives such as the UK GCSEs, lest their higher studies be affected. This also resulted in a vast drain of foreign exchange for examination fees.
Now, with the examinations back on track and the O/Ls due to be held at the end of Grade 10 as done earlier, most parents, even the affluent ones, are likely to choose the local option since Sri Lanka’s examinations are also universally recognised for foreign university admissions. It has also been suggested to terminate school years at Grade 12 instead of 13, thus ensuring a faster gateway to both local and foreign university admission.
If this goes ahead as planned, a student will be able to finish a basic undergraduate degree by age 21 and a special degree by 22, though this may vary for medical students who have to complete an internship as well. In any case, the time has come to rethink the whole rote-based examination process. Many education experts said the Year 5 Scholarship Examination is highly stressful for the developing mind of a Grade/Year 5 student, quite apart from the intense pressure applied by teachers and parents.
Computer Based Testing
The premise behind the Scholarship examination is that the high fliers can get admitted to the prestigious schools in Colombo, Kandy and Galle if they score beyond 170 marks.
Incidentally, this highlights the stark gap between city and rural schools, which should not be the case at all. If all schools were equal, in terms of faculty and facilities, there would be no need to enroll children in the so-called “good” schools in the major cities. We hope that the Year 5 Scholarship Examination would be abolished in due course as this gap is eventually bridged.
GCE O/L and A/L examinations should also be reformatted to assess the real-world skills of students, rather than just textbook knowledge. In the US, many universities have given up depending on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) for university admission, depending on other aspects of a student’s CV for the same process.
We should also be looking at delivering examinations via computer (Computer-Based Testing or CBT) in real time to prevent leaks at least at the A/Ls. Such tests can even be taken at home, under the supervision of a remote human proctor. Faster evaluation of answer scripts will also be possible with the help of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools. Granted, a CBT regimen will take at least 10 years to implement here given the country’s financial and infrastructural constraints.
There should also be a bigger focus on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects at both levels. A few decades ago, a national examination was held at the end of Grade 9, which offered many vocational subjects. Children who excelled in such subjects could easily decide on a future career path even if they left school in that grade.
Likewise, more job-oriented STEM subjects should be introduced to the school curricula. This is even more important for the A/Ls, as only around 30,000 students out of the 100,000 or so who pass the examination per year can actually enter the State universities and the other students have to look for alternative education or job avenues.
For those seeking a job straight after the A/Ls, it helps to have a good grade in a STEM subject as they are more aligned with modern job market requirements, as opposed to arts and humanities subjects. More females should be encouraged to follow these subjects and courses, as job opportunities for women are expanding in this sector. New subjects such as aviation should be introduced to the A/L streams as the aviation/aerospace industry in our region is projected to need around 50,000 professionals in the next few decades.
Our educationists should take a leaf from other countries in our region and elsewhere that have changed their examination structures in line with the needs of a changing world, which is being shaped by trends such as Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Sri Lanka is not the only country grappling with the problem of examinations. India, South Korea, China and the US are among the countries that are seeking solutions to students’ exam woes whilst seeking ways and means to gauge the competencies of the students in other ways including continuous assessment. In India, a controversy erupted earlier this year with regard to the National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test (Undergraduate), or NEET-UG, the gateway to studying medicine in the country. This year, too many candidates got top marks, pushing down the ranking system and making it hard for even high-scorers to get admission.
An astounding 2.4 million students competed for 110,000 university seats in the NEET examination, underscoring the intense pressure and fierce competition faced by aspiring candidates. Since the results were declared on June 4, the examination has come under scrutiny for reasons ranging from errors in the question paper and grace marks (compensatory marks) being given in a faulty manner to allegations of paper leaks and fraud. Indian authorities are now looking at their whole examination structure in the light of these developments.
Our educationists should look at the solutions being developed by other countries to reduce the examination burden and process. It would also be appropriate to use the already-approved name of “National Educational Testing Agency” for the Department of Examinations as written and practical examinations may not be the sole source of assessing the capability of students in the near future. We risk falling behind if we do not adapt to the new realities with regard to examinations.
