A protest was staged in front of the Education Ministry at Isurupaya by the People’s Movement for the Protection of Schools demanding that the cut-off marks of the Grade 5 Scholarship Exam 2020 be reduced.
The protestors insisted on having a discussion with the Education Minister. However, they were unable to as Education Minister Prof. G.L Pieris is undergoing self-quarantine. Therefore, the protestors had discussed the matter with the Additional Secretary to the Ministry, D. Dharmasena.
The Ceylon Teachers’ Service Union has also demanded that the government publishes the number of new student admissions based on the cut-off marks of the 2020 Grade 5 Scholarship Exam released by the Education Ministry.
Teachers and parents are concerned about the unacceptable rise in the cut-off marks of the Grade 5 Scholarship Exam.
The Ceylon Teachers Service Union in a letter to the Education Minister has mentioned that all the students who have scored high marks in the exam must be provided with equal opportunities to enter popular schools.
“The students are disappointed due to this. Some had high hopes of entering popular schools but the cut-off marks released by the Education Ministry are questionable,” the letter said.
The letter further said that students are admitted to these popular schools with the interference of politicians but the students who got through the examination with higher masks are not admitted to popular schools.
Therefore the Ceylon Teachers Service Union has urged the government to publish the number of admissions to popular schools given to the students who passed the Grade 5 Scholarship Examination.
