The Women and Child Affairs Ministry has warned parents and the public against punishing, humiliating or psychologically abusing children over their performance in the 2026 Grade Five Scholarship Examination, stressing that such conduct could amount to an offence under child abuse laws.

The Ministry also urged media organisations and social media users not to publicise examination results in ways that could cause children embarrassment, distress or discomfort.

It warned that legal action would be taken against those who subject children to such treatment.

The warning comes as the results of this year’s Grade Five Scholarship Examination, held on 9 August, were released online.

Of the 294,132 candidates who registered for the examination, 289,867 sat the test at 2,723 centres across the country. They included 220,366 candidates in the Sinhala medium and 73,723 in the Tamil medium.

Examinations Commissioner General A.K.S. Indika Kumari Liyanage said 1,018 students with special needs sat the examination, including 18 children who used Braille.

The cut-off mark for this year’s examination is 139, with around 56,000 students obtaining marks above the threshold.

The results can be accessed through the Examinations Department’s official website.

The Commissioner General said the date for applications for re-scrutiny of results would be announced later.

The Ministry’s warning highlights growing concerns over the pressure placed on young children following the highly competitive scholarship examination, particularly through public comparisons and reactions to their results.