Cabinet nod to hold A/L exam in December, O/L in August

UPDATE: The Cabinet decision to conduct the G.C.E. Ordinary Level in August and G.C.E. Advanced Level examinations in December will not be implemented this year, the Ministry of Education announced.

Thereby, the relevant decision is expected to come into effect 2022 or 2023, the ministry said further.

The Cabinet of Ministers has given the nod to conduct the G.C.E. Ordinary Level and G. C. E. Advanced Level examinations in the months of August and December respectively.

The decision was reached with the aim of rendering the opportunities to obtain first degree qualification within a minimum time frame by minimizing the time spent on the selection process for state universities.

The government has observed that students are aged 19 or 20 years by the time they complete their school education and they are aged 25-26 years when they finally conclude their university education.

This is due to the extended period spent on issuing the A/L and O/L exam results, the Government Information Department noted further. It also leads to delays in inauguration of A/L classes and the undergraduate selection process.

Accordingly, the exam results are expected to be released within 03 months in the future, in order to reduce the total period of 45 months spent on the process to 32 months whereas providing required provisions for the same.

Further, the approval was granted to restructure the syllabus of grades 10 and 11 for a period of one year and 09 months, the Department of Government Information said.

In addition, the Cabinet of Ministers approved the proposal to carry out the selection of students for the universities based on the Z-score without waiting until the re-scrutinization process G. C. E. Advanced Level Examination is concluded.

The Cabinet of Ministers further gave the nod to award new marginal Z-scores to students whose results are upgraded through re-correction process, so that they would be able to undergo the relevant degree courses and apply this methodology with effect from 2020 Advanced Level.

The resolutions were tabled by the Minister of Education to prevent the structural inconsistencies in these examination systems and the unnecessary administrative delays related to technical procedures which have led to unnecessary delays in entering the employment market completing the higher education.

These inconsistencies have been a disadvantage to them personally and to the development of the country as a whole, the Government Information Department stressed.