Education, Youth and Employment Minister Louis Galea said that after 10 years of an examination system held with a foreign board of examiners, it had been felt there was a need to look at the system with a critical eye.

The members of the Matsec Review Group are Dr Grace Grima, Matsec Board chairman Professor Frank Ventura, Dr Ray Camilleri from the Division of Education and the Matsec Committee and Reverend Professor Saviour Chircop, director of the Centre for Communications Technology at the University of Malta. The group was set up to evaluate the current situation, pinpoint the strong points and assess any changes required to the Matsec system. The group has held 14 meetings since March, with people from various fields, including teachers, heads of schools, Dr Galea, Shadow Education Minister Carmelo Abela and parents.

Last year 20 per cent of 16-year olds did not sit their O-level examinations, according to Dr Grima, and a further 10 per cent failed to pass the exams. A higher percentage of girls than boys sit for the Matriculation Certificate and pass.

MLP spokesman for EU Affairs Evarist Bartolo pointed out that in certain schools, 50 per cent of boys are not attending lessons. He also suggested changing the system around in order to eliminate papers A and B. While the present system allows certain students to take subjects they find difficult, on the other hand, teachers might take short cuts and fail to encourage their students to aim high.

The issue of accountability was brought up during the meeting. Results and statistics should be published to quell any rumours circulating after the exam results come out. Certain private schools deliberately keep the results a secret in order to maintain the image that private schools fare better academically.

On this subject, Mr Abela suggested that photocopies of the examination papers should be sent to the students on request. This would help the student understand his mistakes and what had gone wrong. It would also help the public’s perception of the local board to become more positive.

With Malta now a member of the European Union, competition has broadened for local students. However, it is extremely important not to lose focus of the global perspective and only emphasise the European outlook. Students also need to be assured that the Matriculation certificates are accepted by foreign universities.