Vaccination of students yet to begin

By Shamindra Ferdinando

Education Reforms, Open Universities and Distance Learning Promotion State Minister Susil Premjayanth recently told Parliament that the GCE Advanced Level Examination would be put off, but the Education Ministry has not yet made an official statement to that effect.

Lawmaker Premjayanth made the declaration in Parliament on 07 Oct. following consultations with Education Minister Dinesh Gunawardena.

Both ministries yesterday (12) said that an official announcement as regards the examination hadn’t been issued so far when The Island sought a clarification whether they could confirm the postponement of the examination scheduled to commence on Nov. 15.

Sources said that an official statement was likely once a section of the schools would be re-opened on 21 Oct.

Education Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris and Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena swapped their ministries on 16 Aug. Prof. Peiris on July 19 announced the AL examination would be held from Nov 15 to Dec 10.

Secretary to the Education Ministry Prof. Kapila Perera was not immediately available for comment.

Commissioner General of Examination Sanath Pujitha told The Island that as the majority of those scheduled to sit the examination hadn’t been able to finish their studies due to the pandemic and teachers’ strike it wouldn’t be fair to conduct the GCE AL as scheduled.

According to him, the postponement of the examination was inevitable and there is a need to work out a proper plan to ensure the students wouldn’t be deprived of an opportunity to prepare for the examination. Responding to another query, Pujitha asserted that they would have to take into consideration the continuing salary issue.

The Examination Department head noted that the issue hadn’t been resolved yet in spite of various interventions. Pujitha asserted that as much as 60 percent of the total number of those slated to sit the examination hadn’t been able to complete the required lessons. He asserted that fresh dates would have to be announced after consultations with all stakeholders.

Meanwhile, the inoculation of AL students with Pfizer hadn’t commenced yet though various government spokesmen assured completion of the vaccination ahead of the examination. Sources said that though the Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) declared about a month ago that the vaccination of the student community should take place at government hospitals under the supervision of medical specialists, the government subsequently announced the vaccination would take place in schools.

The second dose of Pfizer recommended for the student community should be administered in four weeks. Sources pointed out that even if vaccination commenced at schools on 21 Oct., as planned the second jab couldn’t be administered until the third week of Nov.

Top GMOA spokesperson Dr. Nalinda Herath expressed serious concerns over the developments though the situation seemed to be improving. Dr. Herath said that vaccination of A/L candidates should have been done ahead of the scheduled date for the examination to begin. Regardless of various reports pertaining to the conduct of GCE A/L and GCE O/L, those in authority were yet to make the official position clear.