A deeply moving petition addressed to the Prime Minister by an exceptionally talented Sri Lankan student who fell victim to the arbitrary and irresponsible conduct of the British Council during the Cambridge A-Level examinations, yet remains forced to stay anonymous out of fear for their future.
Honorable Prime Minister,
This is the solitary voice of a child whose heart is filled with tears—a child who dreamed of serving this country through an international-level education funded by the blood and sweat of innocent Sri Lankan parents.
I am a student who achieved 7 A* grades and an A grade in my O-Levels, was awarded the Cambridge Outstanding Learner Award, and served as the Deputy Head Prefect of my school. However, due to severe financial hardships faced by my family, I had to leave formal schooling and sit for my A-Levels as a private candidate through the British Council.
I am writing this letter in an atmosphere of intense fear, unable to disclose my identity. I fear that speaking out against a powerful foreign system might lead to the cancellation of my A-Level results and destroy my future.
Prime Minister, I must ask you… Are we preparing for examinations with a dedication no less than that of free education, staying awake through the night and making thousands of sacrifices, only to fall victim to a rigged system run by profiteers who leak question papers and fail students?
1. Paper Leaks and the Negligence of the British Council
During the recent Cambridge A-Level examinations, question papers for major subjects—including Mathematics, Sociology, Business Studies, Computer Science, Chemistry, and Biology—were leaked publicly on YouTube and social media hours before the exams took place. The relentless effort we put in over months, sacrificing sleep and comfort, was reduced to zero in the face of those who purchased the leaked papers.
Yet, what was the response of Cambridge and the British Council? Instead of accepting the severe loopholes in their security system, they attempted to wash their hands of the matter by dismissing it as mere “theft.” With the entire examination system compromised, they are now gambling with our futures by deciding to re-examine only two Mathematics papers and canceling another paper to allocate marks through an arbitrary mechanism.
2. Psychological Harassment and Insults Within Examination Halls
During my Computer Science practical examination, through no fault of my own, my computer suffered consecutive system crashes. As the code I had written was destroyed, I did not just lose time; I lost my concentration and mental balance.
Instead of assisting me, the invigilator insulted me, claiming, “Your computer crashed because you were typing too fast,” deflecting the blame for their failed technology onto me. To make matters worse, they instructed the next batch not to type fast. Is there a more humiliating mockery than telling a candidate in a Computer Science examination not to type fast?
Previously, in 2024, I was given rusted G-clamps that could not be secured to the table during my Physics practical exam, and no extra time was compensated. These are not isolated accidents; they are the direct outcome of the British Council’s substandard services.
3. Official Silence, Exploitation of Foreign Exchange, and the “Repeat” Racket
Our helpless parents are charged an exorbitant fee of Rs. 40,000 to Rs. 50,000 per subject. When students fail due to negligence and substandard infrastructure, they are forced to re-sit exams, continuously paying hundreds of thousands in foreign currency (GBP/USD). Is this not an organized mechanism siphoning the hard-earned money of innocent Sri Lankan parents out of the country?
Despite these failures, parents have no opportunity to meet higher officials at the British Council when an injustice occurs. Aside from automated email responses, they demonstrate absolute zero accountability.
Prime Minister, I ask you with profound emotion and logical urgency:
- This is not the first instance of misconduct by the British Council. Under whose regulatory oversight do the British Council and its sub-contractors operate while collecting millions from Sri Lankans for exams like Cambridge and IELTS?
- Why do the government and the Ministry of Education remain silent, allowing a private entity to operate without regulation or standards, darkening the futures of our nation’s children?
- Why does the government remain passive before a system that fails children, forces re-sits, and drains foreign exchange out of the country?
- Does the law of this land or the government lack the power to intervene against the psychological distress and injustice inflicted upon Sri Lankan children?
Honorable Prime Minister,
You have been a leader who stood for education and social justice. I write this not merely for my own future, but to give voice to the pain of an entire generation of Sri Lankan students trapped in the grip of the British Council and Cambridge examination system.
Please take immediate steps to regulate these foreign entities operating within Sri Lanka and compel them to maintain strict standards. Do not allow foreign systems to continue exploiting the dreams, futures, and hard-earned resources of our children and parents.
Yours sincerely,
A helpless Sri Lankan student whose future stands threatened by the injustices of the British Council.
(Published by the HariDeshaya.lk Team)