Minimum school attendance requirement to sit AL exam reduced from 80 to 40%

Schoolchildren with 40 percent attendance can sit the GCE AL examination this year, the Minister of Education, Susil Premajayantha told Parliament yesterday (20).

“The Examinations Department has called for applications from school students wishing to sit the GCE AL examination. Usually, for a student to sit the exam, 80 percent attendance is needed, as per memo dated 17 July 2023. This has been the standard practice for some time,” he said.

However, the 2020–2021 COVID pandemic and the economic crisis in 2022 prevented students from attending schools, he said.

“There is more than a week to send in applications. We have decided to send a letter to those in charge of the process from provincial directors of education to principals, informing them that a 40 percent attendance is enough. We have previously asked schools to make a call on attendance, but there have been reports that the actions at some schools are depriving students the chance to sit the AL examination,” he said.

The minister said the 40 percent attendance requirement is valid for this year only.