GCE Examination mess

The mess that was made of the current GCE (O/L) exam due to the negligence on the part of sections of the country's education establishment should not be dismissed lightly. This is because the whole issue concerns the future of our young generation.

Education is a subject that cannot be allowed to trifle with and those responsible for this latest episode should be taken to task to ensure there is no repetition of the lapses that visited the 2009 GCE (O/L) exam.

No amount of apologies or commiseration by the education authorities can cover up the utter mess created in this year's GCE (O/L) examinations which to say the least is scandalous.

Students were confused and confounded when they sat to answer their new syllabus Maths II question paper upon the discovery that a question had been repeated and also by the revelation that the paper was set up under a new format to the new curriculum introduced in 2006.

Parents and several Teacher Unions alleged that the new syllabus mathematics II question paper introduced for the first time caused a panic situation among the students. Calls have also gone out for the cancellation of the paper.

Meanwhile, at the same GCE (O/L) exam glaring spelling mistakes were discovered in the Islamic paper in the English medium causing difficulties to the students. On top of this it was reported yesterday that there had been a shortage of history question papers at the Thurstan College Examination Centre and the Chief Supervisor had to rush to Royal College in a three-wheeler in order to replenish stocks.

This certainly is unprecedented and a ridiculous state of affairs especially concerning the country's education sector which is different to all others. Especially so when the guilty parties are our educators identified with the upper echelons of the country's intelligentsia and respected and venerated by the public for their learning and standing in society.

Of course remedial measures have been taken to ensure justice to the innocent students. The Ministry of Education stated that the Commissioner General of Examinations who had been notified with regard to the Maths II question paper had informed the Ministry that instructions regarding the evaluation of the answer papers would be done after evaluating a sample of answer papers from all parts of the country as done in previous years, by skilled groups on the subject in question.

Why the need for such a torturous process if the question papers were set properly in the first place. The whole issue smacks of a clear lack of coordination by the relevant branches which to say the least is unpardonable given the stature and regard attached to our pedagogues.

If men and women of standing can botch up a simple task such as setting a question paper what message are we sending out to the public. What confidence can this inspire? Won't this be a excuse for other departments too to discharge their functions sluggishly and in lackadaisical fashion if such a venerated institution like Education can falter? One only hopes that they don't take the cue.

Besides what psychological effect will this have on the candidates is any one's guess. Surely it would not have put them in the right frame of mind to proceed with the rest of the examination. And what of their long ordeals of cramming and burning midnight oil in their toil to score high marks at the exam. What of the financial sacrifices and the economic strain by the parents expecting the best academic results from their children even sending them for tuition classes. Won't all this be brought to nought by the silly bungling by those who should know better, in the simple task of setting an examination paper.

The Ministry of Education should not let this lapse go unchecked lest it be trivialised and repeated. Those responsible should be made to answer for this negligence. After all, these panjandrums at the Education Ministry are sustained by the public purse. They should not be allowed to trifle with the future of the next generation. Nothing less than a full probe into the episode is going to satisfy the parents.

The public should not be allowed to lose confidence in our exams, which may lead to a general state of apathy and contempt for the system.

Meanwhile, the UNP has called for the resignation of the Minister of Education over the issue. Although it is the duty of a democratic opposition to point out lapses of the Government it behoves on the party to desist from politicising the issue.

Education is a subject that should not be dragged into the marketplace of vituperative politics. It is therefore prudent for all parties to join together and suggest avenues that would overcome the lapses of this most vital sector.