The evaluation of GCE Advanced Level exam answer scripts is nearing completion but questions have been raised on some of the methods adopted by the Education Department.
Examinations Commissioner General Anura Edirisinghe says that 90 percent of paper marking has been completed with the assistance of qualified teachers and under the supervision of University professors and the results will be announced by the end of this year. He said the balance 10 percent of answer scripts is being evaluated at the Peradeniya University and the National Institute of Education (NIE) in Maharagama.Mr. Edirisinghe said most of the answer scripts in the Science stream including Mathematics are yet to be evaluated due to delays connected to the trade union action of some teachers to boycott the evaluation process.
A senior member of the Ceylon Teacher Services Union told The Sunday Times that marking of answer scripts at the Peradeniya University and the Maharagama NIE is rather unusual saying it was a deviation from the normal procedure. He said that this was the first time that he heard about such a practice during his three decades-old teaching career.
He added that the teachers entrusted with the task of paper marking were not provided with proper training. The procedure of consultation with the professors who prepared question papers for teachers who mark them has not been followed by the Examinations Department and this has affected the standard of paper marking this year for the first time with the department deviating from following proper paper marking procedures, he said.
Meanwhile teachers representing 11 trade unions would be launching a sick note campaign next Thursday to protest against the Government’s short-sighted education policies and politicization’. Trade unions have accused the lethargic attitude of the Education Minister and Ministry officials and said it was virtually pushing the country’s education into an abyss. |
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