Like in any other examination, the recently released Advanced Level results have bred achievers and failures. Yet, the biggest failure, no doubt, is the Examinations Department itself and the manner in which it handled the process of releasing results. The most recent quandary with the release and the haphazard revision of the A/L results show that Sri Lanka’s education system is going from bad to worse.

The department has been indifferent towards the eager students who were expecting to obtain their results sheets before the school vacation; however, only when public displeasure was arising the department thought it fit to come up with an explanation for the delay. Finally when the results were released on Sunday, it could hardly live up to the anticipation of the students and parents as the accuracy of the newly declared grades was very much in question. The magnitude of the muddle was such that the department had to withdraw the results within hours after they were uploaded in order to revise the Z-scores and the district ranks.

When questioned by the press, the department readily blamed the unnecessary delay on the two syllabuses under which the examination was held. However one wonders why the crucial factor did not cross the minds of the officials immediately after the examination or while the paper marking was going on, with sufficient time in their hands to avoid the inconvenience that seemed to have put the future of so many children in jeopardy. The incident goes to show that those entrusted to look into the country’s education system should be first given an education on pragmatism and common sense they seem to be lacking. What is sad perhaps is whatever the blunders made by the so-called authorities, the students and the parents have always been called to bear the brunt.

The confusion is also symbolic of their unpardonable incompetence; as the officials with years of experience in the field they should have foreseen the situation and made plans to avoid any possible impediment. Instead, they waited till the eleventh hour to release the results long after the due date and that too contained innumerable mistakes that could hardly be expected from a professional body such as the Examination Department.

Due to the height of their inefficiency the department has not only lost its credibility in a manner that seems hard to restore, but also has darkened the future of so many students who are helpless when it comes to the possible delay in re-correction results and gaining university entrance. This interruption will not only inconvenience the present batch of victimized students but also it will have a domino-effect on those that follow.

The purpose of education is to make children sensitive to the needs of others. However, with a system such as this, that seemed to be instilling attitudes that are contrary to the values they are expected to cultivate, one can hardly blame the frustration the students exhibit once they gain the university entrance. It is easy to call them rebels, yet, it takes courage to label a government department, for having a hand in their breeding.

Source: Daily Mirror - Sri Lanka