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SC delivers verdict in petitions against govt’s decision on 2024 scholarship exam

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The Supreme Court has declared that the fundamental human rights have been violated through the government’s decision to award free marks to all students for the three questions of the 2024 Grade 05 Scholarship Examination which are alleged to have been leaked.

Accordingly, the court also ordered the Commissioner General of Examinations to immediately implement a suitable recommendation out of the three recommendations made by the experts’ committee appointed to look into the matter.

Additionally, the judge bench also ordered the suspects who have allegedly assisted in leaking the three questions of the question paper ii of the 2024 Grade 05 Scholarship Examination to pay compensation to the government.

Accordingly, the Director of the Planning Division of the National Institute of Education (NIE) in Maharagama, I.G.S. Prematilake, was ordered to pay Rs. 3 million as compensation to the government while Chaminda Kumara Ilangasinghe, a school teacher, was ordered to pay Rs. 2 million as compensation.

This verdict was issued by the three-member Supreme Court judge bench comprising Justices Yasantha Kodagoda, Kumuduni Wickremesinghe and Arjuna Obeysekara, following the consideration of four petitions filed by a group of students who sat for the examination and their parents, expressing concerns over the fairness of the process.

The petitioners had sought a ruling that their fundamental human rights were violated through the government’s decision to award free marks to all students for the three questions of the 2024 Grade 05 Scholarship Examination which are alleged to have been leaked.

On September 20, an investigation was launched by the Department of Examinations after it was alleged that three questions of one of the question papers from the exam had been leaked. Later, the initial investigation report was handed over to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), which also launched a separate investigation into the matter.

The investigations had uncovered that only three questions from the exam had been leaked in advance. However, the incident stirred controversy as a group of parents, holding press conferences and staging protests on several occasions, had claimed that the entire question paper had been leaked.

Against this backdrop, the Director of the Planning Division of the National Institute of Education (NIE) in Maharagama and a school teacher, who were arrested by the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) over the question paper issue, were remanded until October 22.

The arrested 58-year-old NIE Director was a member of the committee which prepared the 2024 Grade 05 Scholarship Examination paper, and the 49-year-old teacher had been conducting tuition classes for Grade 05 students.

The parents raised the issue with President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, and as a result, the evaluation of the answer sheets for the scholarship examination was suspended until the investigation was completed.

On October 14, the Commissioner General of Examinations Amith Jayasundara announced that it was decided not to re-conduct the 2024 Grade 05 Scholarship Examination. Furthermore, it had been decided to award free marks to all students for the 03 questions which were alleged to have been leaked.

However in November, the Supreme Court issued an interim order preventing the release of results of the 2024 Grade 5 Scholarship Examination.

(adaderana.lk)

(Except for the headline, this story, originally published by adaderana.lk has not been edited by SLM staff)

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SL embassy in Tehran, relocated – Vijitha

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The Sri Lankan Embassy in Tehran, Iran has been relocated amid the prevailing situation, Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath told the Parliament today (June 17).

Embassy officials have also been moved due to the situation. In addition to embassy staff, eight Sri Lankan students who had been at the Embassy in Tehran have also been relocated to the northern part of Iran due to security concerns. 

However, all contact numbers remain operational, the minister added.

Herath said that approximately 35 Sri Lankans remain in Iran, with those residing in Tehran currently facing heightened risks. He also pointed out that nearly 20,000 Sri Lankans are presently in Israel.

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No risk of a fuel shortage – Nalinda

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Cabinet Spokesman and Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa has assured that there is no risk of an impending fuel shortage in the country due to the ongoing Iran-Israel conflict.

Speaking during the Cabinet briefing earlier today (June 17), he assured that Sri Lanka currently has adequate fuel reserves to meet national demand for at least two and a half months and and that necessary arrangements have been made to procure upcoming fuel shipments without any issues.

He urged the public not to be misled by such claims on social media.

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Internal Affairs Unit is established in Parliament

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In line with the vision to build a transparent and corruption-free public service, the Secretary General of Parliament has taken steps to establish an “Internal Affairs Unit” in Parliament in accordance with the circular PS/SB/Circular/2/2025 issued by the Presidential Secretariat on 18 February 2025.

The newly established unit aims to achieve several key objectives, including the prevention of corruption, promotion of a culture of integrity, ensuring accountability and transparency in all institutional operations, and guaranteeing public access to information related to parliamentary activities and decisions. Additionally, the unit will work to promote ethical governance, encourage reporting of misconduct, protect whistleblowers through secure and accessible mechanisms, and assist law enforcement agencies and the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption in enforcing relevant laws.

Mr. Chaminda Kularatne, Chief of Staff and Deputy Secretary General of Parliament, has been appointed as the Head of the Internal Affairs Unit, while Mr. W.K.D.C. Vithana has been designated as the Integrity Officer. All department heads of Parliament will serve as members of the unit, supported by a dedicated team representing all departments.

The unit held its inaugural meeting on June 6, 2025, under the leadership of Mr. Kularatne. The meeting focused on discussing the implementation procedures in accordance with the directives outlined in the circular.

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