Education Minister Evarist Bartolo said today he did not see the need for action to be taken against whoever was responsible for including a question that was not part of the syllabus in this year’s Mathematics MATSEC exam, arguing that the important thing was that the mistake was acknowledged and students will not suffer for it.

The Matsec board admitted the mistake on Tuesday after the issue was flagged by the Opposition, which claimed that both the Maths and Physics papers included questions that did not form part of the syllabus. The examinations board admitted the Maths paper mistake but insisted that there was nothing wrong with the Physics paper.

Speaking to The Malta Independent, the Education Minister said he had spoken to the Matsec board as soon as the story came out. The first impression was that more than one paper included questions that were not part of the syllabus but it turned out that there was only a mistake in the final question of the Maths paper, which carried six marks.

Asked what action would be taken to ensure that students were not penalised for a mistake in the paper, Mr Bartolo said that examiners would consider the mistake when correcting the papers. Asked if this meant that all students would be given full marks for that particular question, Mr Bartolo said that is what would usually happen. “That would make sure that all students remain on the same level and that no one is penalized for the mistake.”

Asked if he would ask for action to be taken against the Matsec board, Mr Bartolo said the explanation given by the board was enough and there was nothing to indicate foul play or negligence. What had happened, he said, was that a question was included in the paper when it should not have been. “One should be careful to avoid this kind of mistake. The most important thing is that we do not have two parallel syllabi – one used in schools and another used for exams. After all these exams should serve as a means to test what the students have learnt and not what they have not.”

Similar mistakes had been made in the past, he noted. “The important thing is that the mistake was acknowledged and the correct steps will be taken. I am not saying this as an excuse for what happened. The most important thing is to have just one syllabus and that students are tested on what they have learnt in school.”