Sixty eight schools including Thurstan College and Asoka Vidyalaya in Colombo will be closed from January 2 to 13 for the first stage of the 2016 GCE O/L paper evaluation, while a few classes in 19 other schools will also be closed during the same period, the Examinations Department said today.

Examinations Commissioner W.M.J. Pushpakumara said these schools would be reopened on January 16.

“The first phase of O/L paper evaluation will be carried out in 87 schools countrywide covering 55 cities. We have received more than 158,000,000 answer papers and nearly 62,000 of officials attached to the Examinations Department have been enlisted to carry out the evaluations,” he said.

However, he said the O/L paper evaluation would be concluded after two phases of evaluations.