Grade 5 Scholarship Exam Sees Record Highs

COLOMBO (News 1st); The Department of Examinations has released the results of the latest Grade 5 Scholarship Examination, revealing a notable improvement in student performance across the country. 

According to Examinations Commissioner General Indika Kumari Liyanage, the highest marks recorded were 198 in the Sinhala medium and 194 in the Tamil medium.

This year, 303,671 students sat for the exam, including 229,303 from the Sinhala medium and 74,368 from the Tamil medium. 

A total of 20,000 scholarships will be awarded, with an additional 258 scholarships to children with special needs.

The number of students who scored above the district cutoff marks stands at 51,969, representing 17.11% of all candidates—an increase of 1.06% compared to last year.

Furthermore, 213,872 students scored 70 or more marks, with at least 35 marks in each paper, accounting for 70.43% of the total candidates.

Among the provinces, Sabaragamuwa showed the highest overall performance, with 74.59% of students scoring 70 or above. It was followed by the Southern Province (72.82%) and North Western Province (72.56%). 

In terms of district-level performance, Kurunegala had the highest number of students scoring above 70, followed by Hambantota and Kegalle. When measured against district cutoff marks, Hambantota led in achievement, followed by Ratnapura and Jaffna.

Despite the focus on top scores, Commissioner General Liyanage made a heartfelt appeal to parents:

“No matter what score your child received, please value their effort. Do not create divisions between those who scored above or below the cutoff. Every child deserves to be celebrated for their hard work.”

She emphasized that the scholarship exam should not be seen as a defining moment in a child’s life, but rather as one step in a long journey of learning.