Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court has dismissed a petition by five students seeking a two-month delay to the 2026 A/L examination.
COLOMBO — The Supreme Court has dismissed a fundamental-rights petition filed by five students seeking a two-month postponement of Sri Lanka’s 2026 A/L examination.
The petition was dismissed on Tuesday, August 5, without being taken up for consideration. It was filed by students preparing to sit the examination, including first-time candidates and those making a second attempt.
A three-judge Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice Preethi Padman Surasena considered the application.
Students Sought Two-Month Postponement
The petitioners asked the court to direct the relevant education authorities to postpone the 2026 A/L examination by two months.
They argued that students needed additional time to complete their studies and prepare properly for one of Sri Lanka’s most important national examinations.
Concerns about the timetable had been raised for several months, particularly among repeat candidates. Critics said students resitting the examination had less time to prepare after the release of the previous A/L results.
Former parliamentarian Udaya Gammanpila earlier claimed that repeat candidates had received about 133 days between the release of their previous results and the start of the 2026 examination.
He also argued that first-time candidates had been given fewer months to prepare than students who sat several earlier examination cycles.
However, the Ministry of Education rejected calls for another change to the examination dates. The Ministry maintained that candidates had been given enough time to complete the syllabus and prepare for the examination.
2026 A/L Examination Scheduled for August 10
The Supreme Court’s decision means the examination can proceed under the timetable issued by the Department of Examinations.
According to the amended official timetable, the 2026 G.C.E. Advanced Level Examination is scheduled to begin on Monday, August 10.
Papers scheduled for the first day include Combined Mathematics, Biology, Economics and several religion and civilisation subjects.
The Supreme Court petition followed an earlier legal challenge before the Court of Appeal. On July 23, the Court of Appeal dismissed a writ petition filed by a group of students who had also sought a two-month postponement.
With both legal applications dismissed, no court order currently prevents the examination from proceeding on the announced dates.
Students and parents should rely only on official notices from the Department of Examinations for information about examination dates, admission cards, subject timetables and examination-centre arrangements.
Any change to the timetable would now need to be announced separately by the education authorities. No such change had been officially announced following the Supreme Court ruling.
