23 August 2023 10:02 am Views - 1669
It is necessary to complete the GCE Ordinary Level (O/L) and Advanced Level (A/L) exams in government and government-assisted private schools in 10 months each, Senior Professor of the Buddhist and Pali University of Sri Lanka Ven. Uturawala Dhammaratana Thera said.
While addressing the inauguration ceremony of the International University of Sri Lanka (IUSL) yesterday, the thera said the education system is losing the contribution of the teen spirit.
"According to our ongoing education system, students waste four years of their time studying for O/L and A/L exams. Two years of the time are wasted to face the O/L examination in Grades 10 and 11. Another two years of time-wasting to face the A/L examination in Grades 12 and 13," Prof. Ven. Dhammaratana Thera said.
He said the candidates who were unable to get through the examinations use to repeat both examinations.
"Students use to repeat the A/L examination at least three times to get qualified for university entrance. Spending time repeating exams is a waste of their valuable time. If somehow they enter the universities, they would be able to complete their degrees at least at the age of 24, and if they continue their studies to obtain an honors or B.Sc. level qualification, their age would be 25 years," he said.
There are plenty of universities in the country that provide free education. A large number of students are unable to get admission to those universities after the A/L exam. These students are unable to enroll in universities due to a lack of competition and space," Prof. Ven. Dhammaratana Thera said.
However, there are several private schools operating in the country that are capable of completing the GCE O/L and A/L examinations in 10 months each, and these schools do not have intermediate classes such as Grades 10, 11, 12 and 13. They do not waste the students' time unnecessarily, he said.
Therefore, it is appropriate to limit the duration of conducting O/L and A/L classes to a maximum of 10 months each, the Thera said. (Chaturanga Pradeep Samarawickrama)
Pix by Pradeep Pathirana