Dear parents, don’t value your child’s worth based on an exam

Not every child has the same mental capacity to face the exam as expected by their parents. At this point, children are in a dilemma as they need to perform their best to please their parents who are often very demanding.

If there was one decision that successive governments failed to implement, it was the scrapping of the Grade 5 scholarship exam. Introduced in 1947 by C.W.W. Kannangara to provide opportunities for students from underprivileged backgrounds to enter prestigious schools with better facilities, this exam was later scrutinised for its psychological impact on children. The exam was also criticised for its failure to accurately assess all forms of talent. 

The decision to abolish the Grade 5 scholarship exam has a significant history. In March 2019, former President Maithripala Sirisena announced his proposal to abolish the Grade 5 scholarship examination. The decision sparked further debate, with some arguing that it would negatively impact students from underprivileged backgrounds seeking access to better schools. Many parents look forward to this exam as it provides an opportunity for their children to showcase their academic prowess and find a placement in a ‘prestigious school’. 

A psychologist in one of his accounts described how children who were once easygoing and lovable became irritable and moody as they developed anxiety over facing the impending scholarship exam. The psychologist wrote: “During the last two decades the grade 5 scholarship has become extremely competitive. The huge media publicity given to the top scorers has made things worse. Most parents who have missed out at grade 1 try to use the scholarship exam to get admission to a popular school. One cannot blame them as it is the only mechanism available to an ordinary parent with no connections. But a child needs to score at least 90 percent to enter one of the more popular schools. This is a big task for a 10-year-old child as it leaves very little margin for error.”

As a result, children end up going for two or three tuition classes and compromising their extra curricular activities, diet, sleep and eventually peace of mind. Not every child has the same mental capacity to face the exam as expected by their parents. At this point, children are in a dilemma as they need to perform their best to please their parents who are often very demanding. Perhaps the main cause of  stress for both children and parents is the intense competition to enter a popular school. 

Such a competition wouldn’t have come about if there were more slots available in so-called popular schools. On the other hand, if the Education Ministry fully implemented the ‘Nearest School is the Best School’ Project in 2016, it could have improved facilities in provincial central schools and semi-urban schools to national standards, thereby reducing the need for parents to hunt for schools in the city. 

Attempts made by the Education Ministry to simplify the Grade 5 scholarship exam too proved futile over time. A simplified paper may have high cut off marks, further intensifying the stress on children. It would also make it difficult to pick out the brilliant kids as many will score very high marks. 

Some of the proposals to improve the quality of the Grade 5 scholarship exam suggests that it should be an exam to test intelligence, language skills and mathematics. This way it would reduce the need for attending tuition classes and long hours of cramming. It will also help to identify truly gifted children. 

However the incumbent government announced that a new exam would replace the Grade 5 scholarship exam by 2028. But when questioned in Parliament, Education Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya said that there’s no immediate plan to scrap the Grade 5 scholarship examination and that it depends on the impact of other policy reforms. But she assured that plans are underway to introduce a mechanism to reduce the stress related to the Grade 5 scholarship exam by 2028-2029. This decision, if implemented would certainly be a milestone in the education history of this country.  

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