A-L student transfer circular:

'Needy students to benefit'

Nadira GUNATILLEKE

Cabinet approval has been granted to implement the circular from 2013, aimed at preventing Advanced Level student transfers from one national school to another. Disciplinary action will be taken against Principals who violate the circular. Action will not be taken against students on humanitarian grounds, Education Minister Bandula Gunawardena said.

Addressing the weekly Cabinet press briefing at the Government Information Department Auditorium yesterday, Minister Gunawardena said the circular to be implemented from next year, will assure the rights of needy schoolchildren who obtain high grades at Ordinary Level Examination, undergoing numerous difficulties with the expectation of getting admission to national schools, where science and other streams are available.

The same circular was issued by persons who held the Education Ministry Secretary post in the past, the minister said.

Minister Gunawardena said certain political parties and media which did not understand the truth misled the public.

The father of free education, C W W Kannangara said free education should be a permanent right of the poor. He established 54 central schools. Under the Mahinda Chinthanaya - Vision for the Future, 1,000 such schools will be created to ensure the rights of needy schoolchildren from far away villages. Children of well-to-do parents cannot be allowed to go from one national school to another blocking the opportunities of the needy children who obtain best O- L results with the hope of following A- L in a national school, the minister said.

"There are 72 Divisional Secretariat divisions in the country where not a single school with Advanced Level classes are available. That is why 53 percent of students follow the arts stream and only 22 percent follow the Science stream," he said. Minister Gunawardena said appointments will be given to 1,000 IT teachers by June 29 and 1,000 Science and English teachers respectively in the next few months.

"Around 320 poor students who qualified from rural areas were admitted to Mahinda Rajapaksa Vidyalaya to follow Advanced Level classes. They will be given scholarships of Rs 2,000 each from my salary from June. The Teachers' Development Centre for South Asia in Meepe (Avissawella electorate) will be the main education institute in the Asian region which will train 200 local and 200 international teachers from the region. I brought Rs 90 million worth green boards (to be used with local chalk) and pianos making use of a foreign trip. That was the first time the Sri Lankan education sector received such a big financial assistance," the minister said.

He said as regards the re-correction of Advanced Level answer papers, nothing can be done while court cases are on. "The re-corrections were done in the best possible way to ensure accuracy. My ministry will carry out any duty handed over to us by the Higher Education Ministry in connection with Z-Score. Sri Lanka is the only country that provides free education from Grade one to 13, free school uniforms, meals for schoolchildren, etc," the minister said.