MATSEC apologises for suicide text in Arabic exam

The University of Malta’s examinations board, MATSEC, has apologised for asking students to translate a father’s suicide note in the Arabic SEC exam.

The exam took place on 15 June and teenagers were shocked by the passage in Arabic that included the words “when you read this letter I’ll be dead and you won’t see me anymore”, and “I’ll leave is life and die”. Students were required to translate the passage.

MATSEC said it made “an error of judgment”.

In a statement on Friday the UOM examinations board regretted the choice of text due to the sensitivity of the subject matter.

“MATSEC assures candidates that the members of the SEC Arabic examination panel were selected based on their subject knowledge and experience in the level. In the setting of the papers, the panel ensures that the examination is in line with the syllabus and caters to candidates of different abilities. MATSEC has a review system in place to avoid such situations but unfortunately, mistakes, including errors of judgement, may occur,” it said.

The board said the incident will not have any impact on their grade.