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Scholarship cut-off mark hullabaloo continues
View(s):The Ceylon Teachers Union (CTU), last week, said that the government’s offer to reduce one mark on the cut-off marks announced for Grade 6 admission to popular schools will not make any difference to students.
CTU General Secretary Joseph Stalin said that the marks announced for 2021 admission were way above the 2020 scores and differed by up to 10 marks.
Accordingly, the aggregate for admission to Ananda College, Colombo has been increased to 191 from 181; to Nalanda College, Colombo to 189 from 179; Devi Balika Vidyalaya to 191 from 182 marks; and Royal College to 193 from 184 marks.
The Education Ministry has justified its action saying that the exams were designed easier with only three answers for multiple choice questions, and also by granting a 15-minute grace period to candidates because of the Covid-19 situation in the country.
Mr Stalin, however, said that the situation has risen because of illegal admissions to middle-level classes in popular schools.
He said schools are in the habit of haphazardly admitting students from Grade 1 to 11, crowding classrooms.
The Supreme Court in a 2016 ruling had directed that classrooms in State-sponsored schools should hold only a maximum of 35 students by 2021.
“This is wrong. The government is trying to cut down on the intakes through the scholarship to accomodate students who are absorbed at middle-levels to classrooms,” he said.
“This should stop immediately,” he said.