தவறவிடாதீர்கள்..!உடனே பதிவு செய்யுங்கள்

By M.R.M. Waseem,Rajadurai Hashan

The G.C.E. Advanced Level (A/L) Examinations for the year 2026 will take place strictly according to the previously published timetable, and no postponement will be entertained, confirmed the Deputy Minister of Education and Higher Education, Madura Seneviratne.

Responding to questions raised by Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) Kandy District MP Chamindrani Kiriella during the oral questions slot on Friday, the Deputy Minister emphasized that the state is committed to restoring normalcy to the national examination calendar.

Student Concerns Over Reduced Preparation Windows

MP Chamindrani Kiriella had urged the Ministry to consider a two-to-three-month postponement, citing severe time constraints faced by both school candidates and repeat applicants:

First-Time Candidates: Historically, school students received between 27 to 31 months to cover the vast A/L syllabus. Due to accumulated disruptions, the current batch has had fewer than 20 months of learning time. This was compounded by adverse weather conditions last year, which severely disrupted school schedules.

Repeat Candidates: Students attempting the exam for the second or third time usually enjoy a 6-month preparation window from the release date of their previous results. This year, the turnaround time has been compressed to just 4 months.

Restoring the Academic Calendar

In his response, Deputy Minister Seneviratne acknowledged that the ministry had evaluated these concerns and held extensive technical discussions with the Department of Examinations. "Ever since the pandemic disruptions, we have faced a systemic crisis in bringing our two primary national examinations (O/Ls and A/Ls) back to their regular cycles," Seneviratne explained. "Allowing further delays cascades into the tertiary education sector, causing extensive backlogs in university admissions and impacting subsequent batches." He concluded that following an analysis of data from the past five years, the government has finalized its decision to hold the national exams on time to safeguard the broader education system.