Education Minister Akila Viraj Kariyawasam yesterday directed the Ministry officials to cancel the circular that made the Grade 5 Scholarship Examination compulsory.
The Minister has made this decision after considering the proposals of the committee, which was appointed to forward suggestions to revise the Grade Five Scholarship Examination that has become a severe burden to students.
The Committee comprised educationists, child psychiatrics, consultant doctors on child diseases and experts in the education sector. A Ministry official added that the Grade 5 Scholarship Examination will no longer be a compulsory examination for students with the cancellation of the relevant Circular.
The Committee has upheld that the examination has had a severe impact on the mentality of children.
The objective of the scholarship examination when it was introduced in the country was to offer scholarships to enterprising students from low income families and provide them an opportunity to pursue their education at Cerntral Colleges.