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No preference for ‘Special Lists’ children in school admissions
View(s):No more preference will be given to children coming on ‘special lists’ for school admissions, including Grade 1, new Education Minister Akila Viraj Kariyawasam has decided.
Minister Kariyawasam told the Education Times that investigations had revealed that students who attended Carlton Pre-schools were given preference in school admissions.
The pre school was backed by former first lady, Ms Shiranthi Rajapaksa.
The Minister said principals will be required to keep the number of students to the limit given by the Department and not exceed the quota. Currently, the number of students per class is 45, but often exceeds the limit, he added.
He said that, as a result, some students with high marks at the Grade 5 Scholarship exam are at a disadvantage, as they cannot gain admission.
Minister Kariyawasam said they intend obtaining professional help to draw up a proper plan regarding admissions.
He said that, in future, they will have to obtain Ministry permission if they need to exceed their classroom quota.
In a letter to Education Minister Kariyawasam, the Ceylon Teachers’ Services Union (CTSU) has protested against the inability of a large number of students who have passed the Grade 5 Scholarship exam, to gain entrance to popular and leading schools, even though they have exceeded the cutoff mark.
CTSU General Secretary, Mahinda Jayasinghe pointed out that, this situation is the result of popular schools enrolling new students even after the available number has already been filled up at Grade 1 entrance. Mr Jayasinghe said that these students are enrolled from Grade 2 to 5 surreptitiously, as political favours. He says that, in most schools, classes have swollen to 50 to 60 students, even before Grade 6.
Consequently, bright students having scored well at the Scholarship exam are barred from entering good schools. The CTSU has strongly protested against this, as it makes the Grade 5 Scholarship exam well nigh useless. “Because of this situation, a highly competitive exam, conducted with large public funds, only serves to exhaust and disappoint young students and their parents,” the letter said.
The letter concluded that, if the Ministry does not conduct an inquiry on such unofficial enrollments of students by the Ministry or school administrators, in the past five years, and do justice by the victims (students), the CTSU will resort to further action. (DW/YY)