Prank callers to be taken to task

Minister of Education, Bandula Gunawardena, yesterday told Parliament that some persons have given false telephone calls to the hotline of the Department of Examinations, alleging there had been mistakes and errors in the question papers of the ongoing GCE Advanced Level examination, and he had handed over the numbers to the CID to trace them.

The minister said, two operational room numbers and one hotline number had been publicized by the Department of Examinations for the public to make any complaint, if they detect errors in the question papers, but some unscrupulous elements seemed to have thought of having some sinister fun by giving false calls to those numbers. “This is an act of sabotage and we have the numbers of those who had given the calls,” he said.

The minister also said he had handed over the numbers and other details of those who had given calls to the Exam Department falsely complaining that there were errors in the question papers, to the CID.

He said there was a rumour that art stream question papers had been distributed by mistake with science stream question papers at an examination centre in Homagama. “This is wrong. Some of the art stream question papers have not even been printed yet,” he said. The minister also said this in response to a query by UNP Matara District MP, Buddhika Pathirana. (GW)

(Source: Ceylon Today)