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Enforced limit of 40 in Grade 1 classes: Govt. outlines admission criteria
The Education Ministry states it is determined to keep class sizes to a maximum of 40 in Grade 1 admissions to government schools next year, and adds that over the next two years this number will be cut to 35 in keeping with a Supreme Court order. “We are trying to strictly enforce (the maximum limit of 40 in 2014) and expect to reduce the number of students to 35 gradually in 2016,” the Education Minister, Bandula Gunawardena, said.
“This regulation (limiting class sizes) was introduced because originally only 22 to 25 students were allocated to a class. Private schools are already following these limits and have been able to maintain their student population logically.”
Under the new Grade 1 admission guidelines, 30 students would be selected for each class through direct interview. Three more could be selected through appeals and objections during the interview process. Seven places would be kept for children whose parents have served or are serving in the armed forces and police, making up a total of 40 students per class.
Interviews would be conducted only if there are more than 40 applications for the class. In this event, an interview board will allocate marks for each student depending on criteria, and four times the number of students that are to be admitted will be notified to appear for interview.
Criteria for admission to interview carry a total of 100 points and include the following: 50 points for prospective students who reside close to the school; 25 points for offspring of past pupils; 15 marks if a child has a sibling studying in the same school; five marks if a parent is employed in the education sector; four marks for children whose parents are receiving transfers on exigencies of service from government, corporations and state bank services; one mark for children arriving after having lived abroad. If any document given to the interview board is found to be illegal the application will be rejected.
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