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Students
trapped in middle of marking muddle
The Education Ministry has decided to manually re-mark not only the Multiple Choice Question (MCQ) answer scripts of the Chemistry paper, but also the other computer-marked answer scripts which include Biology, Physics and Agriculture. This follows the startling revelation that the Examination Department had used faulty computers in marking the papers. In addition to the remarking, other drastic changes have been decided at a meeting on Thursday attended by Education Minister Susil Premjayanth, Ministry Secretary Ariyaratne Hewage, Examinations Commissioner Anura Edirisinghe, University Grants Commission Chairman B.R.N. Mendis and the JVP-affiliated Inter University Students’ Federation (IUSF). Students of the biological and physical science streams got the shock of their lives after the Examination Commissioner admitted that a fault had occurred in the computer marking of part I (MCQ) of the Chemistry paper, despite continuous denials by the Department even after numerous complaints made by parents. Investigations directed by Examinations Commissioner Anura Edirisinghe revealed that the Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) scanner, used in marking the Chemistry MCQ papers had not functioned properly.
The crisis surfaced only after the 2005 A/L results were released when students from the Matara district were alarmed to find that there were only eight A passes in Chemistry in the entire district whereas in the previous years an average of some 40 students obtained A passes each year. Thereafter a group of parents met Minister Mangala Samaraweera who in turn arranged a meeting with the Examinations Commissioner. Although the Commissioner had at first vehemently denied any fault in the marking process, the crisis deepened when more than 7,500 candidates applied for their answer scripts to be re scrutinised. However due to the unprecedented number of applications for re-scrutiny and due to appeals from a large number of candidates -- for the first time since the installation of the marking computers in 2001-- on December 30 the Examinations Commissioner ordered the re-scrutiny of the Chemistry papers of some 60,000 candidates. President Mahinda Rajapakse too intervened in the matter and on Monday directed Presidential Secretary Lalith Weeratunga to suspend university admissions and order a full probe into the matter. The President also instructed that the other three subjects - Biology, Physics and Agriculture, which were also marked, using the OMR scanner, be re-scrutinised. Thus the answer scripts of some 150,000 candidates are to be re-marked. According to the Commissioner further investigations have revealed that a lesser number of disparities were shown in the other three subjects and that even in Chemistry too, the results from only four districts -- namely Galle, Matara, Matale and Kurunegala were incorrect. So far the reason for the machine malfunction has not been detected and officials said a power failure even for a very short time could have triggered the six-year-old Indian made computers to err. An Examinations Department spokesperson said that starting from yesterday the Chemistry, Biology, Physics and Agriculture MCQ papers would be manually re-scrutinised. He said the Examinations Commissioner has to submit a ‘Zero Inaccuracy Report’ after the completion of the re-scrutiny. The Sunday Times learns that marking of papers will go on till the third week of January and that the Z-score is scheduled to be released by the end of January. The Sunday Times learns that after the computer division informed the Examinations Commissioner in June last year of faults in the machines, three new machines were procured from a USA firm on a buy-back basis in December, to replace the Indian-made computers installed in 2001. Department sources said with the re scrutiny, the minimum Z-score (cut-off marks) could change and as a result candidates, who had been found eligible for university admission previously, might end up being ineligible, creating a fresh crisis. With the Chemistry paper crisis the much debated and complex Z-score method has also come under heavy fire.Ceylon Teachers Services Union (CTSU) responding to the controversy said the Union was suspicious of this being yet another move to deprive the students from remote areas of their rights to higher education. “As there were several attempts in the past to abolish free education and to privatise the education system, this too could be an attempt to minimize the chances of students from rural areas going for higher education”, CTSU General Sectary Mahinda Jayasinghe told The Sunday Times. “If it was the computers that caused the error in the marking system, once again the authorities should be blamed for using faulty machines instead of replacing them. They spend large sums of money on a large number of unnecessary consultants. Therefore we don’t believe even if they say there are not enough funds”, he said. Mr. Jayasinghe said the Union was awaiting the final outcome of the inquiry ordered by President Mahinda Rajapakse. “In case of any injustice being done to the students, our Union is hoping to intervene by going for trade union action along with universities and schools on behalf of the affected students”, Mr. Jayasinghe said. Ceylon Teachers Union (CTU) president Joseph Stalin Fernando told The Sunday Times that authorities in charge have to be held responsible for the chaos that has occurred due to the lack of proper planning more than any machine malfunction. “These computers cannot operate on their own and therefore these things are avoidable. It is the duty of those who are in authority to ensure the accuracy of the marking system as a single mark could make a huge difference where a student’s chances for University entrance are concerned. However, it is the students who will have to pay the price in the end and not those in authority”, he said. “Usually what happens is that a committee will be appointed to look into the matter while attention is high among the public, but the crisis is forgotten after the focus has died down. Students sit for exams with much hope having undergone many hardships and difficulties for many years. Therefore, it is the government’s responsibility to take proper action against those who act irresponsibly thus preventing situations of this nature in the future”, Mr. Fernando said. Meanwhile a principal from a leading school in the southern province said many students, parents and teachers in Galle District were concerned about the issue as there were only eight ‘A’ passes in Chemistry from Galle this year whereas in the previous year there have been close to 80-90 ‘A’ passes for Chemistry. “This is a remarkable discrepancy. A lot of students were complaining and they even signed a petition,” the principal said. According to Polonnaruwa Royal College Principal H. K. Jayasekera, at Royal College there were no ‘A’ passes for Chemistry this year, which he attributes to the error in the MCQ paper-marking. “Students who mark the correct answers but in different ways, for example, simply putting the “X” mark in the correct answer, would lose their marks as the computer data will not support the answer. After the surfacing of the issue the IUFS of Sabaragamuwa University had raised strong criticism on the Z-score method. IUFS
- Sabaragamuwa representative, Nuwan Gamini Dissanayake told The
Sunday Times that students from the two districts in Uva province
earmarked as disadvantaged - Moneragala and Badulla -- had also
faced hardship due to the present university admission scheme. “In
2004 although 21 candidates from Moneragala district qualified for
the Science stream in 2005, the number qualifying dropped to 13.
Likewise in the year 2001, 27 had entered the Medical faculty and
it had decreased to 21 in 2004 and further dropped to 13 in 2003.
In the case of Badulla too it’s the same”, Mr. Dissanayake
said. Although university admissions have been increased by 1,442 the JUSU claims that the intake from Jaffna has not increased accordingly but had surprisingly decreased. The union further charged that a large number of Jaffna candidates had been affected by the cutoff mark previously released by the University Grants Commission (UGC). IUFS
convenor Duminda Nagamuwa told The Sunday Times that during a recent
meeting (see box story) the Government had agreed to review the
Z-score and to increase the District quota intake.
This silence by Mr. Mendis deprived some 150,000 students who sat for the examination in the Biological and Physical Science streams from knowing their fate or clarifying the situation. Govt.
promises education reforms To
end privatisation of any sort in the education sector. To
appoint a committee to probe the blunder. To
increase the intake through District quota benefiting candidates
from remote areas. |
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