Public asked to report evidence on ‘leaked’ questions in 2024 Scholarship Exam

Sri Lanka Police informs that anyone with evidence or knowledge of any exam questions, other than the three questions already alleged to have been leaked, being disclosed prior to the 2024 Scholarship Examination, to come forward with complaints by October 7, 2024.

Issuing a statement in this regard, the Police Media Division stated that complaints can be submitted at the offices of Senior Superintendents of Police (SSP) in police divisions across the island. Those unable to visit these offices can instead file complaints at the nearest police station, where the Divisional Criminal Investigation Unit will record the information and forward it to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) for further investigation.

Evidence in any form, including documents or other instruments, can be presented to support complaints, the police said, having assured the public that all complaints will be thoroughly investigated, with additional instructions already issued to the CID to take prompt action regarding the matter.

The public is encouraged to cooperate fully in bringing any relevant information to light, helping to ensure transparency and fairness in the examination process, the police said.

On September 20, an investigation was launched by the Department of Examinations after it was alleged that a question paper from the exam had been leaked. Later, the initial investigation report has been handed over to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), which is currently conducting further inquiries.

Meanwhile, the Secretary of the Ministry of Education, Thilaka Jayasundara, announced that the paper marking process of the Grade 5 Scholarship Examination, which was held on September 15, has been temporarily suspended, owing to the issue.

Furthermore, the Education Ministry said the decision on whether to hold the Grade 5 Scholarship Examination again or not will be made after the CID and the Exams Department complete their investigations into the alleged leaking of questions. The decision will be based on the findings and recommendations of the relevant investigations, according to the Ministry Secretary.

The Commissioner General of Examinations Amit Jayasundara said that investigations are being held into an incident where three questions similar to those on the Grade 5 Scholarship exam paper had allegedly been posted online via a model exam paper.

He had also stated that if investigations uncover that the questions have in fact been leaked, the relevant questions would be disregarded during the paper marking process.

He revealed that an investigation was conducted based on the information received alleging that a teacher in the Alawwa area had uploaded a model question paper to social media which had included three questions similar to three questions in the first paper of the Grade 5 Scholarship Exam.

However, the parents have requested that the President to consider holding a re-examination for the first paper of the Grade 5 Scholarship Examination, as they claimed eight questions, and not three, were leaked prior to the exam.

This year’s scholarship exam was held at 2,849 centers across the island, with 323,879 candidates participating.