Focus on increasing intelligence level of students, Sri Lanka President advises Education Minister

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has advised the Minister of Education Bandula Gunawardena to focus on increasing the intelligence level of the students as the Cabinet of Ministers rejected a proposal to introduce a new grading system to G.C.E. Ordinary Level examination.



The hyped proposal of the Education Minister mooted a new 'N' pass for the students who obtain marks between 25 to 34 out of 100. The cut off mark for a pass in Ordinary Level exam is 35.

The Minister pointed out that the eligibility for students to enter the GCE A/L class will increase by 11% with the introduction of a new grading 'N' to the G.C.E. O/L results in addition to the present grades of A, B, C, S and W.
Nearly half of the students taking the G.C.E. O/L exam drop out from schools since they fail to qualify for Advanced Level. One of the major reasons for this is failure to pass mathematics which is a basic qualification for reading for advanced levels.