Z-Score imbroglio:
Another 382 students  petition SC

By Chitra Weerarathne

The Supreme Court yesterday granted leave to proceed with a further batch of 382 petitions, filed by a group of students who had sat the GCE Advanced Level Examination in August 2011 under the old syllabus.

The Counsel for the University Grants Commission once again gave the undertaking to Court that no admissions would be made to the Universities for the academic year, beginning October 2012, until the dispute in respect of the Z-scores was amicably settled through the intervention of the Attorney General.

Faiz Mustapha PC, appeared for the UGC.

The new batch of petitions will be called before the Court, along with the petitions filed earlier, on September 3, 2012.

The students who sat the GCE A/L Examination under the old syllabus have complained to the Court that subsequent to the re-calculation and the re-issuance of the Z-score, the UGC had pooled the old syllabus Z-scores, which had been worked out taking the two syllabuses as separate populations, and the new syllabus Z-scores.

That arbitrary act had deprived them of university admission, the petitioners have said.

Senior State Counsel Nerin Pulle appeared for the Attorney General.

Sanjeewa Jayawardene and Saliya Pieris appeared for the student petitioners.

The Bench comprised the Chief Justice Dr. Shirani Bandaranayake, Justice N. G. Amaratunga and Justice K. Sripavan.