A fake news stating that all schools will be closed on the 7th !

Below is our investigation into a misleading post circulated on social media stating that schools will be given holidays for the local government elections.

Social Media Posts :

Social media posts were circulated stating that all schools would be closed for 3 days from May 5th to May 7th, due to the local government elections.

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It was also circulated through Facebook.

We have taken steps to investigate this matter based on the requests we received to verify its accuracy..

Fact Check :

A news item published by the mainstream media outlet Dinamina regarding the granting of school holidays due to the 2025 local government elections was circulated on social media.

In that it is stated that holidays have been granted to all schools from 2025.05.05 to 2025.05.07 due to the election.

However, the Ministry of Education recently issued a statement stating that due to the local government elections to be held on May 6, all schools in the island have been granted holidays only on May 5 and 6.

Accordingly, the statement further states that, despite of few schoold which are selected for election duties, most schoold in the isalnd will be reopen on May 7th.

Similarly, the list of reservation of buildings in schools/educational institutions for the local government elections representing 20 districts also includes an annex stating how holidays will be granted to several selected schools..

It stated that the following schools would be closed during the relevant period, including some schools last week and some schools until May 7th. The list is below.

The relevant announcement also states that schools to be used as polling stations should be handed over to the relevant Grama Niladharis on 04.05.2025, and that all Zonal Education Directors and Principals should be informed to provide the necessary tables, chairs and hall facilities for polling station activities.

Ministry of Education

We inquired with the Ministry of Education regarding this and they confirmed that all schools will reopen on the 7th. The school holidays for the election will be only on the 5th and 6th, and only the schools that will be used for election duties will be open on the 7th. The ministry of Education has published that relevant list of schools.

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Conclusion :

The Ministry of Education confirms that the social media post stating that all schools will be closed until the 7th due to the election is false, while the holidays due to the local government elections will only be on the 5th and 6th of May. However, some schools that will be used for election purposes are scheduled to open on the 7th, and the Ministry of Education has issued a statement stating the relevant list of schools.