The old system, where the school rather than the ministry had a greater say in Grade 1 admission, has been reintroduced. Why?
It is not exactly the old system. It is a modified system. Under this system, principals cannot take arbitrary decisions with regard to admissions. There is a committee which consists of the principal, the deputy principal, the primary section head, parents and a representative from the past pupils’ association.
It is this committee that will take decisions. The Education Ministry, the Minister or politicians are not involved. The aim was to keep them out of the admission process so that the ministry will have little involvement. The ministry’s role will be limited to formulating the syllabi, hold examinations and attending to administrative and related matters.
Some parents say the new system is unfair. How do you respond to their complaint?
As the selection is done by the committee headed by the principal, there is little room for any injustice. If the parents feel their children have been disqualified unfairly, they can petition the appeal board, which is headed by the principal of the school nearest to the school concerned..
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| Education Minister Bandula Gunawardena: Exams and syallabi need to be re-examined |
This board which also consists of ministry officials will study the case and give a ruling. If there is any irregularity in the process, the ministry will take disciplinary action against the officials.
The new education policy, which we hope to implement by next year, will include regulations that spell out the process of disciplinary action and punishment.
What was the need for the new policy? Were there weak points in the earlier one?
The Grade 1 admission process is a major problem. The problem is more acute in urban areas where some 25000 to 35000 children vie for limited places in schools in the area. In rural areas, this is not a major problem.
But the government has to treat the problem as one affecting the entire country. We also felt that the ministry should not get involved in the admission process. Its role in the process had been negative and it should also take the responsibility for the mess.
We also understand that the ministry has plans to reform the GCE Advanced level examination. Is it true?
We have many plans. We have plans for the Grade 5 scholarship examination and the O/L and the A/L examinations. We want to have a national policy on examinations and a bill will be presented in parliament and made into law before the end of this year. The changes envisaged through this bill are not my ideas. It will include the recommendations of a select committee. This committee is studying two resolutions. One is on a national education policy based on proposals from the President’s office and the other is based on a report by a committee consisting of religious leaders, academics and teachers. In the formulation of the national education policy, all these views will be taken into consideration.
What is the main reason for a national policy on education?
We have received many complaints about the Grade 5 scholarship exam. Educationists say it is a huge burden on the mind of a ten-year-old child. In the case of the O/L, it is pointed out that the syllabi are too vast and it contains a lot of non-essentials. Even the A/L syllabus needs to be re-examined. Some of the A/L subjects include what is taught to the 2nd year undergrads. As a result, many students fail the exams. Another area we are focusing on is the system of automatic promotion. In the past, we had a system whereby students who did not do well in school exams were not promoted to the next class while those who did exceptionally well were given double promotions. When this system was stopped, it led to a higher failure rates at O/L exams. The new national policy will rectify all these weaknesses.
Another cause for concern is the high failure rates in mathematics at the O/L examination. Why is this trend continuing?
At present, students who get below 35 marks are failed. A student who gets 34 marks -- or a little below that -- should not be treated as having failed that subject. He or she should be given a grading closer to the pass mark. We must not equate them with those who get zero or very low marks. The new system will address this flaw. I have asked the National Education Institute to give me a report in two weeks regarding Grade 5, O level and A level exams.
Though the government has introduced English medium classes, it is said there are not enough qualified teachers to teach in English, especially to A/L students. How are you going to solve this problem?
We hope to solve this problem this year. The president has approved the immediate appointment of 554 English medium graduate teachers. We hope to start English medium A/L classes in all subjects in August.
In many rural schools, there are not enough teachers. They do not have proper buildings, equipment or facilities. How do you hope to solve their problems?
I agree that there is a dearth of teachers in schools in rural areas. It is largely because some teachers do not want to serve in rural schools. We will introduce legislation to enable the transfer of teachers serving in national schools to provincial schools.
There are about 4,000 acting principals serving in schools in the North and the East. Are there any plans to address their grievances?
The three-decade-old war prevented teachers from going to schools in the troubled areas. The ministry appointed principals but they did not accept the post. So the ministry had to appoint teachers who served in these schools despite the war as acting principals. Those who have served in this acting capacity for more than three years will be made permanent.
Teachers and principals also say their grievances regarding salary increments and promotions have not been addressed. Your comments:
We have referred the matter to the Salaries Commission and the Attorney General and hope to solve the problem before the end of the year.
Last year, there was a big outcry over mistakes in question papers. What are the steps have you taken to prevent a recurrence?
The provincial education authorities are responsible for these mistakes -- not the ministry. Probably, it was the work of some corrupt politicos who wanted to discredit the government. We hope to get ministry officials to supervise the formulation of question papers. |
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