Claim: Prime Minister and Minister of Education, Harini Amarasuriya, has announced that the Grade 5 Scholarship Examination will no longer be held.
Fact: Media Secretary to the Prime Minister, S.Vijitha Basnayake, has confirmed that the news is fake.
A news item is being shared on social media that Prime Minister and Minister of Education, Harini Amarasuriya, has announced that the Grade 5 Scholarship Examination will no longer be conducted, and she is firm in her stance on this matter.
It is also being reported that the marks for the Grade 5 Scholarship Examination, held on 15th September, will not be revealed either.
The Grade 5 Scholarship Exam in Sri Lanka is a highly significant national examination taken by Grade 5 students. Organized by the Department of Examinations under the Ministry of Education. The aim of this exam is to identify talented students and provide them with scholarships for further education, particularly to continue their studies in national schools (prestigious government schools) across Sri Lanka.
The news is being widely shared on social media platforms, including TikTok and Facebook, along with a photo of Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya.
Factcheck / Verification
We first checked the official websites and social media pages of the Prime Minister, the Prime Minister’s Office, and the Ministry of Education for any news or announcements regarding this matter, but found no records of any such announcement.
This prompted us to contact the Prime Minister’s Media Secretary, S. Vijitha Basnayake, who confirmed that no decision has been made by the Prime Minister, who also serves as the Minister of Education, to completely cancel the Grade 5 Scholarship Examination from 2024. She further stated that no official announcement has been made regarding this matter and that the news is completely false.
We also verified the information regarding the release of the results for the Grade 5 Scholarship Examination held on September 15. On November 18, the Supreme Court issued an interim order preventing the release of the results for the 2024 Grade 5 Scholarship Examination. This decision followed a fundamental rights petition filed by several parents concerning the leak of three questions in this year’s examination paper.
The interim order is temporary and applies only to this year’s issue. The Ministry of Education has announced that it will take the necessary steps to inform the Supreme Court of the government’s stance on the scholarship examination by December 2nd. Therefore, no final decision has been made regarding the release of the results for the 2024 Grade 5 Scholarship Examination.
Conclusion
Viral news claiming that Prime Minister and Minister of Education, Harini Amarasuriya, announced the cancellation of the Grade 5 Scholarship Examination from this year onwards is false. The Prime Minister’s Media Secretary, S. Vijitha Pasnayaka, has confirmed that these claims are false. Furthermore, media reports state that no final decision has yet been made by the Supreme Court regarding the release of this year’s Grade 5 Scholarship Examination results.
Result: False
Our Sources
Statement from the Media Secretary to the Prime Minister.
News report on Ceylon Today, dated November 19, 2024
News report on News 1st, dated November 25, 2024
News video about the SC’s decision on the Grade 5 Scholarship results on the Daily Mirror YouTube channel, dated November 18, 2024.
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