Students with SEC grades of 6 or 7 can still keep studying - government
Students who obtain SEC grades of 6 or 7 can continue their studies after secondary school through courses offered by MCAST, ITS and Higher Secondary, the Education Ministry insists.
The Education ministry was replying to statements made earlier that day by Labour spokespersons Evarist Bartolo and Owen Bonnici. Bartolo accused government of inflating English, Maltese, and Mathematics SEC exam pass rates by including students who obtain grades of 6 or 7.
Bartolo said these grades would not allow students to follow up their primary and secondary school studies in tertiary education, as grade results below 5 are below the requirements for all sixth form schools except Higher Secondary.
However, the government hit back saying that Bartolo had claimed that students who obtained such grades "would not be able to keep studying or find employment." It added that courses were available to such students through MCAST, ITS and Higher Secondary.
The ministry also claimed that “the MCAST success story clearly bothers the Labour Party, and so it tries to discredit this educational institution that is offering great opportunities to those who wish to keep studying and offers second chances to many youth.”
It added that by 63 MCAST students graduated with a degree in a vocational subject of grade 6 during the most recent academic year.
The ministry added that it was not true that students with such results would not be able to find work, pointing to employment opportunities in the Army, Police Force, and “various jobs with government or the private sector.”
The ministry also said that according to MATSEC results, 89.9% of those who sat for the Physics exams obtained a grade between 1 and 5, and 82.6% obtained a grade between 1 and 7. It added that the “same positive average was obtained in other science subjects.”
It however made to reference to how Bartolo warned that very low rates of students who take up science subjects like Biology or Chemistry, and how Malta’s crop of gradates in sciences, engineering, and research was suffering greatly as a direct result of how these subjects are not encouraged.
The ministry however also accused the Labour spokespersons of misquoting figures and “repeating information that was already officially refuted” with the sole aim of “trying to detract from the country’s success in the education sector and discourage students from studying.”
