The 2024 (2025) GCE Ordinary Level (O/L) examination will begin tomorrow (March 17) at 3,663 examination centres islandwide. Commissioner General of Examinations Amith Jayasundara said that 474,147 students are eligible to sit the examination this year.
Of them 398,192 are school students while 75,965 are private candidates. The examination, conducted in Sinhala, Tamil and English according to the candidates’ preference, will continue until March 26, with coordination activities conducted at 534 centres. Today’s subjects are Buddhism, Islam, Christianity, Catholicism and Saivanery (Hinduism).
Jayasundara said students should carry an approved type of identification (mainly the National Identity Card) along with their admission cards. He said they should be present at the designated centres at least 30 minutes before the commencement of each paper.
Special arrangements have been made for differently-abled candidates. The Department will also work closely with the Police, Security Forces and the Disaster Management Centre to ensure alternative arrangements in the event of floods or other natural calamities near examination centres.
Students will not be permitted to carry prohibited items such as correcting fluid (Tippex), phones, calculators, cameras, smart watches, headphones (hearing aids are permitted) and exercise books/blank sheets to the examination centres. If found in possession of a prohibited item during the examination, such students will be liable to face an examination ban for five years. No extra time will be given for any student who goes to the washroom during the time allocated for any question paper. Jayasundara said special arrangements have been made to prevent any question papers leaking and also to uncover acts of copying, fraud and impersonation, which will carry harsh penalties.
He said that the admission cards for the examination have been sent to be delivered to the students.
Admission cards of school students have been sent to their schools, while those of private candidates have been sent to their residences. The marking of answer scripts will begin after the examination is over. The results can be accessed on doenets.lk.
The Government plans to revert to the normal schedule of examinations from next year, Jayasundara said. The schedule went haywire due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which disrupted school sessions for a couple of years. The Year 5 Scholarship Examination and the GCE Advanced Level (A/L) examination will be held in August and the GCE O/L examination will be held in December annually. Other non-school Government examinations will also be held according to their previous schedules.
