MP Namal Rajapaksa incorrectly uses incorrect data on education

On 11 July 2019, Mawbima reported MP Rajapaksa making the above statement which claims with specific numbers that starting with 560,000 candidates sitting the G.C.E. (O.L) exam, only 28,000 (that is about 5%) succeed in gaining university entrance. 

FactCheck evaluated both the specific numbers and the substance of the MP’s claim, using the latest data on performance at G.C.E. (O.L) and G.C.E. (A.L) exams from the Department of Examinations, and data on university admission from the University Grants Commission (UGC).

Exhibit 1 shows that the specific data quoted by the MP is incorrect on at least three counts: on the numbers (i) sitting for the G.C.E. (A.L) exam; (ii) passing the G.C.E. (A.L) exam; and (iii) entering university. 

The substance of the MP’s claim is also incorrect, and not only because of the errors in the numbers that he uses. When quoting the number that sit the G.C.E. (O.L) exam, the MP’s data does not refer to the emerging batch that sits the exam for the first time, but also includes those from previous batches who re-sat the exam. The number that sat the G.C.E. (O.L) exam for the first time in 2018 was only 296,029. This means that the percentage of a typical G.C.E (O.L) batch that will gain entrance to university is about 10.6% rather than the 5.0% that is claimed by the numbers put forward by the MP.

By using incorrect data and also using data incorrectly, the MP’s statement provides both incorrect information and an incorrect claim on the status of education progression in Sri Lanka. Therefore, we classify his statement as FALSE.

 Exhibit 1: Performance of G.C.E Ordinary and Advanced Level Candidates (2016-2018).

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