Gr. 1 admissions:Draft proposals go to Chief Justice

The final draft of the proposals on Grade 1 admissions will be handed over to the Chief Justice for consideration tomorrow, after making the amendments suggested by the Supreme Court, an official of the Joint Committee of the Past Pupils Association said.
The amendments ordered were some adjustments and clarifications such as a methodology to accommodate a child in a school after his admission had been rejected by another school or if the parents want to send applications to several schools, a way to coordinate them and so on, association media spokesperson Dr. A. Rabel said.

Lawyer U. Egalahewa who represented parents and teachers, (non-past pupils) told The Sunday Times all the parties involved would take part during the weekend in taking up the suggestions. According to the proposed system, which would be finalised tomorrow, three main categories have been suggested for giving marks with a total of 100.

Fifty marks would be given for the evaluation of the child which includes intelligence and aptitude, with a maximum of 25 marks for each. The rest of the marks to be given will be as follows: 15 marks for active participation of either parent as a past pupil, 15 marks for the educational qualification of the parents and 10 marks for the profession of the parents (e.g. public servant, armed forces).

Ten marks are to be given for those in the brother /sister category and if a brother or a sister is studying in a school close by, other siblings would get five marks considering the convenience for parents in sending their children to that school.