Prof. Kapila Perera, Secretary to the Ministry of Education, said that the high performance of many students in the Grade 5 Scholarship Examination has led to an increase in the cut-off marks for the admission to popular schools. According to Prof. Perera, this year's cut-off marks have been prepared in accordance with the cut-off marks circular issued in 2008. He was responding at a media briefing held after a programme in Kalutara. "The real situation is that the overall marks obtained by all the students in the scholarship examination have gone up. All the rumors circulating in this regard are incorrect. The number of students and the number of classes in schools have been posted on the Ministry of Education's website, which will clear things out," he said.