On this Christmas day when the world celebrates the birth of a holy baby who grew up to be a messiah, we have some tidings of an unholy affair affecting the future of a large number of Sri Lankan children. The best subject for discussion on this blessed day, we reckon, is our children, for Jesus' love for them knew no bounds. He said, "If any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you, if a great millstone were hung around your neck and thrown into the sea."

It was only recently that about half a million children sat the GCE (O/L) examination with a view to clearing the first main hurdle in their path to higher education. Alas, over three hundred thousand of them were in for a rude shock on seeing their mathematics paper. Many broke down and some even fainted. Thereafter, they lacked a proper frame of mind to sit the other papers that followed. They were reeling, we learn, for days on end, unable to come to terms with the dashing of their hopes.

The affected children were the unfortunate ones who sat the maths paper II (new syllabus). There were two reasons for their predicament. On the one hand, they had not been properly coached for the change over and on the other the paper was too difficult. There were two almost identical questions in both papers set under the two syllabi but those who followed the new syllabus were given fewer marks and less time for them.

Most children in this country have an atavistic fear of maths thanks to poor teaching. We are aware that some maths teachers were able to score as low as five to ten marks at an examination held by the Education Department to select maths instructors! Thus, teaching mathematics in this country is a classic case of the blind leading the blind. There are, of course, good teachers but sadly they are a minority. It is alleged that some schools had not even made use of the model maths papers they had been given in advance to guide children for the O/L examination under the new syllabus.

It will be interesting to know the excuse that the teacher unions have for this sad state of affairs. They must make their members carry out their duties by students properly before launching strikes and boycotts.

At examinations, the poorly equipped children, as we argued in a previous comment, are tested for what they do not know instead of what they really know. The result is disaster. Over 57 per cent of the candidates crash in maths and children develop a phobia of that subject which is so essential for their higher education as well national development.

Now, we learn that the Cabinet has cancelled the controversial maths paper in response to public protests (and to prevent irate parents invoking the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court). The government has made a prompt decision for once much to the relief of the aggrieved children and their parents. But, we learn, there are some students who are confident that they answered that question paper well. They, too, will have to sit the examination again. Is this fair?

Schools are on vacation and children at play. They have already forgotten what they learned or mugged up, as is the way with children. The fresh examination is expected to be held within three weeks or so. The question is whether children are ready for another test so soon. The Education Ministry will have to take these factors into consideration in deciding a new date. What is it going to do about the children who have not faced at least a model paper? Shouldn't they be coached properly before being tested again? Else, the same results are likely to be repeated.

Examinations are on the other hand dicey affairs. Luck also plays a big role, apart from knowledge and cramming, in a child's performance at an examination. A child who did extremely well in the maths paper at issue may not be able to fare equally well next time for some reason or other. Won't he or she be placed at a disadvantage for no fault of his or hers in such an eventuality?

What the educational and political pundits who have sought to cut the mathematical Gordian knot must bear in mind is that they are handling tender minds which are capable of helping produce, depending on how they are dealt with, either good intelligent citizens making a valuable contribution to national progress or good for nothing politicians sponging off the public!

The maths paper in question has brought to light not only some serious lapses on the part of the education authorities but also many a problem afflicting the education sector as a whole. There are no piecemeal solutions to those much vexed problems which have gone unaddressed for decades. The high failure rate in mathematics at the GCE (O/L) examination has come to be taken for granted if the sickening nonchalance of successive governments is anything to go by. Poor performance of students points to the need for overhauling the teaching of mathematics.