Examinations Dept. favours holding Grade 5, A/L exams as scheduled

Examinations Dept. favours holding Grade 5, A/L exams as scheduled

The Department of Examinations awaits the Government‘s decision to continue holding its national –level school examinations on originally set out dates in the background of the recent COVID-19 situation.

These examinations include Grade Five Scholarships Examination and the G.C.E. Advanced Level Examinations. The Ministry of Education had announced in July that the Grade Five Scholarships Examination will be held on October 11 of 2020, and the Advanced Level Examinations will commence from October 12 of 2020. The department’s Commissioner of Examinations (Schools) K.M.H. Bandara yesterday told the Daily News that the Examination Department is well prepared to hold both exams as scheduled.

He said that the Department of Examinations favors holding the Grade Five and the Advanced Level examinations on the dates foreseen as planned, but the government go-ahead is a requirement given the measures it has put in place to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

“So the department will naturally await the government’s signal,” he said.

Meanwhile, Education Ministry sources told us although many countries affected by COVID-19 pandemic have chosen to postpone or cancel exams, the majority of them have held year-end national level exams with certain measures to ensure the safety and health of students.