The Commissioner General of Examinations Amith Jayasundara says that the highest score achieved in the 2024 Grade 05 Scholarship Examination across Sri Lanka is 188.
Speaking at a press conference held this morning (24), Jayasundara noted that while one student scored the top mark of 188, several candidates achieved scores of 187, 186, and so on.
Commenting further in this regard, the Exams Commissioner General highlighted that this year’s highest score is relatively lower compared to previous years, noting that in past examinations, the top scores typically exceeded 195, with a perfect score of 200 achieved in 2020.
However, the exams chief attributed this decline to a possible increased difficulty level of the question paper in 2024.
Furthermore, Jayasundara highlighted the immense mental pressure placed on 10-year-old students by this highly competitive examination, a situation that he noted is not commonly found in other countries.
He emphasized the importance of finding an alternative to the Grade 05 Scholarship Examination to achieve its objectives without putting undue stress on young children.
Until such an alternative is implemented, however, the examination will continue, he said, noting that to mitigate pressure on students, the Department of Examinations has decided not to disclose the names of the highest-scoring candidates this year.
The results of the 2024 Grade 05 Scholarship Examination were released online last evening (23) and can be viewed on the department’s official website: www.doenets.lk.
Meanwhile, the highest district cut-off mark is also set at a relatively lower mark this year, which is 143.
The 2024 Grade 05 Scholarship Examination was held on September 15 at 2,849 centres across the island.
The Examinations Department said that approximately 323,900 students had applied while 319,284 had sat for the exam. Meanwhile, a total of 51,244 students have achieved marks above the cutoff mark of the exam, it said.
It further said that appeals for the scrutiny of results are requested to be submitted online between January 27 and February 06, 2025.
