Ministry to study the future of students disadvantaged by re-issue of Z-scores
Posted by Editor on July 30, 2012 - 8:16 am
The Ministry of Higher Education has decided to obtain information regarding students who have been disadvantaged due to the reissuing of Z-scores.
Its Secretary Dr. Sunil Jayantha Navarthne stated that this procedure will be carried out by the University Grants Commission.
He added that discussions will be carried out about these students and their university enrollments.
The Secretary reiterated that they will not let any student be disadvantaged due to the reissuing of Z-scores.
Courtesy: News First / Graphics by Onlanka News
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Political interventions in academic affairs is very severe in Sri Lanka which result serious aftermaths to Sri Lanka.
The chairman of University grant commission, vice chancellors, secretary of Higher education ministry are directly political appointments.
They continuously argued that their method of Z score calculation was correct. But now what happened. Most secretaries of ministries know nothing about the subject of the ministry.
Then 330 million gods may bless to the eduction of the country.
The Z score is an excellent and sustainable method for assessing student performance. The students were educated under mulitple systems.
Unfortunately, the academics who designed this excellent method are unbale to communicate the basics and underlying considerations in understandable language to parents, politicians and other intersted parties.
Hope truth will prevail and the SC Judges will rule favourably on this matter. The Hon Minister will hence be not scapegaoted.
lots of students waiting for cut off marks to judge the injustice.Avoid this ugc should give seperate cutoff marks for old and new.
We agree the Hon.Minister of higher education does not know this Z score stuff technically. No problem with that. But he repeatedly defended and justified calculation of one Z score for two syllabi old and new considering as a one population.
The Z score is the best statical method to assess the performance of students sat for the exams in different streams and syllabi. But application was wrong in this case by considering two populations as one.
We are very happy however, if the problems could be corrected but believe not completely.
In our understanding in most of the times decision makers don’t know the subject matter and attempt to make happy politicians or the the Minister in charge of the subject at any cost to the country irrespective of which political party in power. They argue decision making is a different art , not to deal with subject matter. Therefore, this structure makes always problems at a higher rate rather than that of solving them.
Valid comments by Anthony Udugampola in Blog 2 are appreciated. The Z score is based on complex statistical techniques that are beyond the comprehension of bureaucrats in education and the UGC and the Hon Minister.
I hope the Courts had the patience to listen through the statistical theories leading to the Z score. If the courts fail to understand and rule against the Z score, I will consider that to be a big blow to education in Sri Lanka.