Whither Meritocracy? Reimagining Grade 5 Scholarship Examination in Sri Lanka - II

The 2024 Grade 5 Scholarship Examination data for Paper I reveals stark disparities in performance between upperand lower-income students, underscoring deep systemic inequities.

- By PROFESSOR AMARASIRI DE SILVA (Continued from yesterday)

Upper-income students are disproportionately represented in the highest scoring bands—particularly in the 71-100 range—while lower-income students are heavily concentrated in the mid-to-low bands, especially between 41-60 marks. For instance, only 1.33% of lower-income students scored above 70, compared to 4.32% of upper-income students, indicating that socioeconomic status remains a strong predictor of academic success even in early-stage assessments. These findings echo the patterns observed in Paper II and suggest that early educational disadvantage is both class-based and gendered, with lower-income males particularly underrepresented in scholarship-qualifying bands. The data supports urgent calls for income-sensitive scholarship thresholds, targeted academic interventions in low-income districts, and gender-responsive pedagogy to address these entrenched gaps and promote equitable access to educational opportunity. (See Graph 3)