The Ministry of Education has opened an investigation after six packets containing the G.C.E. Advanced Level Physics Paper I — due to be sat on Friday — were found a day early at an examination coordination centre in Ambalantota.

The packets were discovered on Thursday inside a question paper container holding papers for subjects scheduled that same day, officials said. Ada Derana and Daily Mirror listed those subjects as Music, Dancing and Agriculture; Hiru News reported that Business Studies papers were also among them.

Commissioner General of Examinations Indika Kumari Liyanage said on Thursday that the Physics packets had not been unsealed, and Daily Mirror reported her as saying they had not been opened or compromised. That account was revised the following morning — see the update below.

Where the papers were found

Hiru News identified the location as coordination centre No. 323, based at Ambalantota Maha Vidyalaya in the Hambantota district. According to Hiru, the six packets were found among question paper containers that had arrived covering six separate examination centres served by that coordination point.

Daily Mirror reported that the discovery was made when examination officials inspected the containers, and that authorities are now working to establish how the Physics packets came to be placed in the wrong container.

Exam under way island-wide

The G.C.E. Advanced Level examination is being held at centres across the country. Ada Derana noted that the Ambalantota incident was reported against that backdrop, with the Physics paper still scheduled for Friday.

Department rejects leak claims

The Department of Examinations later issued a clarification stating that no A/L question paper due to be sat on Friday had been leaked in any way, and that the examination would proceed as planned.

Commissioner General Liyanage urged candidates not to panic over false information circulating that claimed Friday’s papers had been leaked, and asked them to sit the examination as usual without unnecessary fear. The department said the Physics packets had not been unsealed or exposed in any manner, and that immediate steps were taken to reseal them once they were discovered, according to Ada Derana.

No arrests or suspensions have been reported. Officials have not said whether the papers were misrouted at the point of packing, in transit, or on arrival at the centre.

Update — August 14: department says a package was mistakenly unsealed

On Friday morning, as the Advanced Level examination continued, the Department of Examinations gave a fuller account of the Ambalantota incident that differs from its statements the previous day.

Commissioner General Liyanage said a package containing question papers for Friday’s examination had been mistakenly unsealed while officials at the coordination centre were opening bags containing examination papers, NewsFirst reported. Staff at the centre immediately notified the department, after which the package was resealed and returned to its designated location.

That description sits against the department’s Thursday position, reported by Ada Derana and Daily Mirror, that no packets had been unsealed, opened or exposed in any manner. Neither the department nor the outlets reporting the earlier statement have explained the discrepancy.

Liyanage said no examination question papers were leaked at any point during the incident, and repeated her call for candidates not to panic and to sit the examination as scheduled. A team of officials from the Department of Examinations has been dispatched to the centre to investigate how the package came to be opened.

Sources