What Muthugala Sir Actually Said About the A/L Exam Ruling?

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Few names carry as much weight among Sri Lanka’s Advanced Level students as Dinesh Muthugala, the Biology tuition teacher who commands a following of hundreds of thousands. So, a social media post claiming that “Muthugala Sir” had insulted the judiciary over its ruling refusing to postpone the A/L examination was always going to strike a nerve with students and parents alike. Here is our fact-check into that claim.

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Fact-Check

The Ministry of Education has made clear that the 2026 GCE A/L examination will not be postponed and will proceed as originally scheduled, from August 10 to September 5, 2026. Sources are available here and here.

Alongside this decision, “Dinesh Muthugala Sir,” during his tuition class, criticised those who had decided not to postpone the exam and those who advised in favour of that decision, telling his students it was unfair to those sitting the A/L for the second or third time. Footage of that moment was published on July 22 on his “Dinesh Muthugala Education” YouTube channel, as shown below.

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However, our review shows that the teacher made no statement whatsoever linking the exam’s non-postponement to any court ruling, nor did he insult the judiciary. His criticism was aimed at other government decisions. The video also appears to match a statement he made during a Zoom-based tuition class on July 17.

The Court Never Ordered the Exam to Proceed — It Simply Dismissed the Petition

An attempt had been made to postpone the A/L exam through the courts, but the Court of Appeal of Sri Lanka rejected that request on July 23.

Because the teacher’s statement was made before any court decision — whether to postpone the exam or to reject the petition — had even been announced, it is clear that the social media post is trying to falsely suggest he criticised the judiciary over the non-postponement.

Moreover, the court issued no order at all, either to postpone the exam or to hold it as scheduled. The Court of Appeal simply dismissed, without granting leave to proceed, the petition filed by a group of students. It is therefore illogical to claim that Mr. Muthugala criticised a court order directing the exam to go ahead — no such order was ever issued.

Court Rejects Writ Petition Seeking Postponement of the A/L Exam

A group of nine students, due to sit their first and second attempts at the A/L exam, had filed a writ petition seeking a two-month postponement. They cited insufficient time to complete the syllabus, owing to Wednesday holidays granted during the fuel crisis and disruption to school activities caused by Cyclone Ditwah.

Appearing for the Attorney General, Solicitor General Viraj Dayaratne pointed out that about 378,000 students were registered for the exam while the petition had been filed by only nine, and that postponing it would disrupt numerous later processes, including university admissions.

After hearing the arguments, the Court of Appeal bench of Justices Rohantha Abeysuriya and Priyantha Fernando ruled that the petitioners had failed to establish sufficient legal grounds for judicial intervention in the examination process and dismissed the petition without granting leave to proceed. The order confirmed that the exam would proceed as originally scheduled in August. More details can be seen here, here and here.

Mr. Muthugala

We also contacted “Dinesh Muthugala Sir” for clarification. He said his criticism, as a teacher, was aimed generally at those advising the Ministry of Education who decided not to postpone the exam despite the hardship faced by students sitting it for the second or third time, and at those criticising the students themselves. He confirmed that he had never at any point criticised a court order or decision on this matter, and that his remarks were made before the writ petition on the A/L exam was even dismissed.

The 2026 A/L Examination

All examination-related tuition classes, seminars and workshops officially concluded at midnight on August 4, and the A/L examination is scheduled to be held nationwide across 2,532 examination centres, from August 10 to September 5. For the official timetable, visit the Department of Examinations, Sri Lanka website here.

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Conclusion

Our fact-check finds that the social media post claiming “Dinesh Muthugala Sir” criticised a court order for not postponing the 2026 A/L exam is misleading.

Although nine students filed a writ petition with the Court of Appeal seeking postponement, the court dismissed it without granting leave to proceed. The court therefore never issued any order to postpone the exam or to direct it to go ahead. The dismissal came on July 23, while the video in which Mr. Muthugala criticised the Ministry of Education decision-makers over the non-postponement was filmed on July 17, during a final Zoom lecture to students — nearly a week before the petition was dismissed.

At no point in the video does Muthugala mention judiciary. While he also criticised other arbitrary government decisions alongside the non-postponement, he never once referenced any court ruling in doing so.