Special centres for Covid positive scholarship students

The 2021 grade five scholarship examination was held with special centres for candidates who tested positive for COVID-19 by the Department of Examinations yesterday.

More than a 100 centres had been setup across the island for the examinations to be held said Examinations Commissioner General L.M.D. Dharmasena.

Under the arrangement, parents of candidates who tested positive for COVID-19 were instructed to take the children to the special exam centres after producing the RAT or PCR test results to the official in charge of the respective examination centre, he said.

However he had requested parents to refrain from taking children to special centres if they are suspected COVID-19 cases, as candidates who are under quarantine and showing symptoms have a special room set up at their respective centres where they could sit for the exam.

A total of 340508 candidates were scheduled to appear for the examination.

Accordingly 255062 candidates from Sinhala medium and 85446 candidates in Tamil medium were due to sit the Scholarship Examination this year at 2943 examination centers. All candidates were advised to wear face masks when reporting to the examination centres and when answering the papers.

Candidates were seated 1.5 metres apart from one another, with a maximum of 30 candidates in each classroom.

The students were requested to follow health guidelines to prevent the spread of the virus.

This year’s Scholarship Challenge Test has scheduled for one hour to answer the first paper and one hour and 15 minutes to write the second paper.

Dr. Ayesha Lokubalasuriya, the community health specialist at the Family Health Bureau, said it is important for parents to create an environment where their children can face the exam in a relaxed manner without being stressed.