The Hon. (Dr.) Harini Amarasuriya - Prime Minister and Minister of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education

¶ 01 4. The Hon. Ajith P. Perera asked regarding the G.C.E. (Ordinary Level) Examination from 2015 to 2025:

¶ 02 (a) (i) The number of candidates who sat for Sinhala and Tamil (as the First Language) and English (as the Second Language) in each year has been presented in the Annex. Please see the Annex to the English answer. (ii) The number of candidates who failed those subjects has been presented in the Annex. (iii) The numbers in (ii) above, as a percentage of the total number of candidates for each subject, have been presented in the Annex. Please see the Annex to the English answer.

¶ 03 (b) Measures to improve language education in schools:

¶ 04 Sinhala: - Identify provinces showing low performance levels through annual results analysis and plan and implement capacity-development programmes for teacher instructors and teachers. - Prepare and distribute mock question papers for students appearing for G.C.E. (O/L) and (A/L). - Prepare and present lectures by expert teachers for the “Gurugedara” TV programme in collaboration with the National Institute of Education (NIE). - Prepare and upload soft copies of self-study lessons and video lessons to e-Thaksalawa. - Conduct a competition under three school categories to ensure equal access for every student (Circular 40/2025): - Student population less than 200 - 201-500 - Over 500 Winners in each category will be evaluated at national level. - Publish the “Nuwana” education magazine. - Continuous supervision by Provincial Special Coordinating Officers to implement subject development programmes at provincial level.

¶ 05 Tamil: - Prepare model question papers and marking schemes for G.C.E. (O/L) and publish via the Ministry’s e-Thaksalawa platform. - Conduct teacher training workshops at national and provincial levels for O/L classes. - Conduct guidance seminars/workshops for students. - Conduct “Gurugedara” educational programme in collaboration with NIE. - Future plans include promoting reading habits (classroom libraries, increased use of school libraries), conducting oral exams with appropriate book prizes, activity-based workshops for teacher advisers, and skills-based competitions in Tamil Language Day programmes.

¶ 06 English: 1. Implement capacity-development programmes for English and foreign language teachers to improve quality. 2. Create an English-speaking environment for Grades 1-2; introduce programmes to develop primary teachers’ speaking skills (e.g., SPEAK - Strengthen Primary English at Key Stage I). 3. Through Regional English Support Centres in all provinces, implement programmes on learning methodologies to strengthen teachers’ teaching-learning process (e.g., one-year course on strengthening teaching methods for primary English teachers). 4. Provide learning resources to schools to improve English and foreign language education. 5. Provide computer equipment for English activity rooms to enable exposure and use of modern technology. 6. Introduce and promote co-curricular activities that develop students’ four language skills. 7. Implement English language promotion via the ELLE Programme under the General Education Modernization Project (GEMP). 8. Collaborate with universities, the British Council, Goethe-Institut and other agencies, obtaining subject-specific expert services. 9. Teacher appointments have been made to teach language subjects for graduates with a major/special degree in the relevant language, according to recruitment procedures.

¶ 07 (c) Not applicable.

¶ 08 Annex (extracts):

¶ 09 G.C.E. (O/L) Examination — Sinhala, Tamil, English (selected rows as presented)

¶ 10 Sinhala Language (No. sat / Failed / % failed) — multiple years listed in Annex. Tamil Language (No. sat / Failed / % failed) — multiple years listed in Annex. English (No. sat / Failed / % failed) — multiple years listed in Annex.

¶ 11 The Hon. Nalinda Jayatissa, Minister of Health and Mass Media, requested two weeks’ time to reply to Question No. 05 - 2058/2026 raised by the Hon. Ajith P. Perera, appearing in today’s Order Paper.

¶ 12 6. The Hon. Ajith P. Perera asked regarding G.C.E. (O/L) Examination 2015-2025: candidates failed in religious subjects.

¶ 13 (a) (i) The number of candidates who appeared for Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity and Islam in each year is given in Annex 1. (ii) The number of candidates who failed in those subjects is given in Annex 1. (iii) The numbers in (ii) above, as a percentage of the total number of candidates for each subject, are given separately in Annex 1.

¶ 14 (b) Yes. Based on G.C.E. (O/L) results, zones including schools with the lowest results were selected; student and teacher capacity-development programmes were conducted for all religious subjects; and value-development programmes were conducted.

¶ 15 (c) Not applicable.

¶ 16 Annex 1 (extracts as presented):

¶ 17 G.C.E. (O/L) — Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Christianity (selected rows with SAT/FAILED/% for 2015–2025).