The Scholarship Examination (also known as the Grade 5 exam) is a highly competitive

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

n examination conducted by the Department of Examinations of the Ministry of Education. It is optional for students to undertake it during the final year of

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...

(Grade 5 (usually ages 9–10)). Based on the results of the exam, students could transfer to prominent national schools. The exams are held in two mediums: Sinhala, and tamil

History

The examinations were introduced by the late Hon. Dr.

C.W.W. Kannangara Dr. Cristopher William Wijekoon Kannangara ( Sinhala ආචාර්ය ක්‍රිස්ටෝෆර් විලියම් විජේකෝන් කන්නන්ගර; 18 October 1894 – 23 September 1969) was a Sri Lankan Lawye ...

, who took the initiative in establishing free education when he was the Minister of Education. Under this initiative the government established

Madhya Maha Vidyalayas The "Madhya Maha Vidyalaya'(Central College)''" concept (English: Central College) is a type of state school in Sri Lanka. Originally mooted in the 1930s by C.W.W. Kannangara, 54 Central Colleges were founded between 1943 and 1947 as part of his in ...

(MMV - Central Colleges) that were scattered around the island. The Scholarship Examination was a means for gifted students from villages to move to better schools with government scholarships.

School cut off marks - 2021 scholarship exam (2022.01.22 )

Boys Schools

Royal College, Colombo Royal College, Colombo is a selective entry boys' school located in Cinnamon Gardens, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Started as a private school by Rev Joseph Marsh in 1835, it was established as the Colombo Academy by Sir Robert Wilmot-Horton in Janua ...

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Dharmaraja College, Kandy Dharmaraja College ( si, ධර්මරාජ විද්‍යාලය), founded in 1887, is a boys' school in Kandy, Sri Lanka. It is a Buddhist school with around 300+ teaching staff and around 5000+ students. The school has many notable ...

- 187 3 Ananda College, Colombo - 186 4

Maliyadeva College ''විද්‍යා භූෂනං පුරුෂ භූෂනම්'' ''Vidya Bhūshanam Purusha Bhūshanam'' , motto_translation = Science is the jewel of man , location = Negombo Rd, Kurunegala , city ...

- 184 5 Kingswood College - 181 6 Nalanda College - 179 7 Richmond College - 176 8 St. Anne's College - 174 9

Rahula College Rahula College ( Sinhala: රාහුල විද්‍යාලය ''Rāhulaa Vidyālaya'') (Tamil: ராஹுல வித்தியாலம் ''Rāhula vittiyālam'') is a boys' school in Sri Lanka, located in Matara district. Though ...

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St. Sylvester's College St. Sylvester's College is a national boys' school located in Kandy, adjacent to the St. Anthony's Cathedral. It was founded by the Sylvestro Benedictine Congregation in 1940. It offers primary and secondary education and the college is unde ...

- 169 11 Mahinda College - 166 12

D. S. Senanayake College D. S. Senanayake College ( டி.எஸ் சேனாநாயக்க கல்லூரி ''D. S. Senanayaka Vidyalaya'', also referred to as DS and DSSC) is a Single-sex education, boys' Primary school, primary and Secondary school, sec ...

- 164 13 Isipathana College - 161 14

Thurstan College Thurstan College ( si, තර්ස්ටන් විද්‍යාලය) is a National school (Sri Lanka), national school for boys in Colombo, Western Province, Sri Lanka, Western Province, Sri Lanka, providing primary and secondary education ...

- 159 15 Bandaranayake College - 157 16

Vidyartha College Vidyartha College ( Sinhala: විද්‍යාර්ථ විද්‍යලය) is an all-male national school located in the Central Province of Sri Lanka. The college was founded in 1942 by the Vidyartha Society, and is currently run by t ...

- 155 17 St. Aloysius' College - 154 18

Mahanama College Mahanama College is a Sinhala Buddhist boys school in Colombo, Sri Lanka which was established in 1954. As a public, national school, it is controlled by the central government, as opposed to a provincial council. It provides both primary an ...

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Joseph Vaz College The Joseph Vaz College of Wennappuwa is a public school in Wennappuwa, Sri Lanka. It was established in 1934 and consecrated in honour of St. Joseph Vaz. It opened with 28 children with Bro. Lewis as its first director. It is a National School, m ...

- 150 20 Ashoka Vidyalaya - 147

Girls Schools

Visakha Vidyalaya Visakha Vidyalaya () is a girls' school in Colombo, Sri Lanka. It is a National School managed by the central government providing primary and secondary education. History The school was established in 1917 by Celestina Dias as the Buddhist G ...

- 187 2 Devi Balika Vidyalaya - 185 3

Maliyadeva Girls' College Maliyadeva Girls' College ( Sinhala: මලියදේව බාලිකා විද්‍යාලය) is a national Buddhist school in Sri Lanka situated in Kurunegala. History Maliyadeva Girls' College was founded on 1 July 1946 by tw ...

- 183 4 Mahamaya Balika Vidyalaya - 181 5 Sirimavo Bandaranaike Vidyalaya - 180 6 Southlands College - 177 7 Rathnavali Balika Vidyalaya - 167 8

Sujatha Vidyalaya Sujatha Vidyalaya is a girls' school in Sri Lanka. Located in the Matara District - Sri Lanka's southernmost district. The school was established as a private Buddhist school by the Matara Buddhists' Society in 1929. Sujatha Vidyalaya is one ...

- 175 9 Holy Family Convent - 173 10

Anula Vidyalaya , motto_translation = Arise and be Diligent , city = Nugegoda , country = Sri Lanka , type = National , religion = Buddhist , established = , founder = E. W. Adikaram , principal = Anoma Dahanaya ...

- 171 11 Girls' High School - 168 12 St, Paul's Girls School - 167 13

Sanghamitta Balika Vidyalaya Sanghamitta Balika Vidyalaya (also called: Sanghamitta Girls' College) is a Buddhist girls' school in Galle, Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ila ...

- 165 14 Janadhipathi Balika Vidyalaya, Kurunegala - 163 15 Viharamahadevi Balika Vidyalaya, Kiribathgoda - 161 16 Pushpadana Girls' College - 159 17

Yasodara Devi Balika Maha Vidyalaya Yasodara Devi Balika Maha Vidyalaya is a girls' school located in Gampaha district in Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ...

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Sacred Heart Convent Sacred Heart Convent may refer to: * Sacred Heart Convent (Florissant, Missouri) *Sacred Heart Convent of the Mary of Nazareth Parish (Brooklyn) {{disambiguation ...

- 155 19 Ferguson High School - 153 20 St. Joseph Balika Vidyalaya, Nugegoda - 150

Controversies

In recent years the exam has become extremely competitive, therefore many claim that it puts unnecessary pressure on students at an early age. It has been considered as a "parent's" exam rather than student's. It is necessary to carry out a study on the long term success of the scholars. This exam is now being used as a tool for Political leaders in Sri Lanka to neglect the development of rural schools.

References

{{Cite web , url=http://www.moe.gov.lk/english/images/grade_5/2017/sin_boy.pdf , title=Archived copy , access-date=2018-03-16 , archive-date=2018-03-17 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180317035955/http://www.moe.gov.lk/english/images/grade_5/2017/sin_boy.pdf , url-status=dead Educational qualifications in Sri Lanka School qualifications School examinations