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High cut off marks deny scholarship students places at top Colombo schools
View(s):“Hundreds of students who passed last year’s grade five scholarship exam with high marks will not be able to enrol in several popular schools in Colombo as the cut off marks were unrealistically raised above 190 this time, several parents said.
“The marks have been identified as the highest cut off marks released in recent times,” Kandy District Parents Association Convener Dumindu Prasanna said.
“For instance, if a girl has scored 187 marks, she will not be able to apply to any school in Colombo, and this is not fair,” Mr. Prasanna said.
“What we request is to accept at least five students who passed the scholarship exams for each grade six class, or reduce the cutoff marks by five points,” he added.
He said another solution was to provide an additional classroom for students who passed the exams last year.
“Students are not facing examinations just to get the bursary, but to get enrolled in a school with more facilities. If rural schools are given the proper facilities, or at least provided with the basic needs, then these students do not have to struggle so hard to be selected,” Mr. Prasanna said.
“This is the first time the grade five scholarship exams have such high cut off marks. In Colombo, Ashoka College is the last school students can apply to even if they scored the minimum of 179 marks,” Saliya Dissanayake, a parent and a teacher of a school in Gampaha, said.
“We have been asked to apply to schools depending on the previous exams cut off marks. We never expected the marks to increase from a 1-12 ratio. The authorities said they have decided on this because they want a minimum of 45 students enrolled in each grade six classroom, but 16,800 students have been taken to classes outside the Ministry circulars,” Mr. Dissanayake said.
According to the cutoff marks released recently, a student was expected to score 97 marks for a paper to be eligible to apply to a new school, which is not practical, he said.
“My son has scored 190 at the scholarship examination. He always wanted to go to a popular school in Colombo. Everyone we know, encouraged him to achieve this goal,” Ashoka Gamage, a parent residing in Kuliyapitiya said.
“Last time, the cut off marks for Royal College was 184. We have been asked to mark the preference compared with the previous marks. We never expected the cut off marks to increase to 193 marks,” she said.
The Education Ministry Secretary said they weren’t strict in marking the question papers, which we never asked, even in the face of the COVID pandemic, she added.
“In a situation like this, our children are mentally affected. How can they continue succeeding in their education, when their dreams of enrolling in a better school fail in the blink of an eye,” Miss Gamage said.
“According to the circulars released by the Education Ministry the maximum admission for grade one is 45 students but there were students who had gained admission to grade two classes at popular schools. My child who passed the examination and received a high score, could not be enrolled to schools he wanted to attend,” she added.
Education Ministry Secretary Kapila Perera said the high performance of many students at the grade five scholarship examination had led to an increase in the cut off marks.
“This year’s cut off marks have been prepared in accordance with the cut off marks circular issued by the Ministry,” Prof. Perera said.
“The overall marks gained by scholarship examination students have increased. All rumors circulating about this issue are incorrect. The number of students and the number of classes in schools have been posted on the Ministry’s website, and this will clear things out,” he added.
Prof. Perera also said the cut off marks for the grade five scholarship examination were issued in accordance with the criteria issued by the Education Ministry.
“It is not because of political influence. The matter was decided according to the circulars. Some schools only have classes from Grade six to 13, and in those schools 85% of the students are enrolled through the scholarship examination,” he told the Sunday Times.
“Admission to Royal College is another issue not related to this cutoff marks issue. Parents requested to enrol more students at Royal College from the grade five scholarship exams, which is not practical. The solution for this tense situation would be provided within a month,” he added.