Education Minister Akila Viraj Kariyawasam said his ministry had issued a circular making Grade V scholarship examination an optional exam for students in government schools. 

Kariyawasam said the circular would endure that the Grade V scholarship is not a compulsory exam for students. 

This comes in the wake of President Maithripala Sirisena's remarks to scrap the Grade V scholarship exam. The proposal has been greeted with mixed reactions by the education sector. 

The Education Ministry previously issued a circular making Grade V scholarship compulsory for all students in government schools. In October last year, Kariyawasam instructed his ministry officials to take measures to cancel the circular and make Grade V scholarship an optional exam.