Maltese language vocational exam ‘will sow confusion, wreak havoc’

Adding two exam options for “foreign” and “vocational” Maltese to the existing Maltese MATSEC exam will “sow confusion in schools and among students”, a the University of Malta’s Department of Maltese and other academic entities said.

In a statement signed by the Akkademja tal-Malti, the departments of Maltese at the Junior College and University of Malta and the Institute of Linguistics, l-Ghaqda tal-Malti, and the societies of Maltese poets and Maltese proof-readers, Dr Adrian Grima threw cold water on the Education Ministry’s plans, saying students who needed help passing their exam required  stronger  investment in the teaching of Maltese instead of “splintering the current SEC course and wreaking havoc.”

The educational bodies asked the ministry to explain clearly to the public in which ways the vocational Maltese exam would be different from the current exam.

“Which are the skills that will no longer be acquired by the students taking this course? Which basic components of language learning will the Ministry remove from the education of secondary students? Which ‘vocation’ (or occupation) will it cater for? Will it apply to all possible ‘vocations’?” they asked.

SEC certification in Maltese is a marker of the standard of knowledge one has of the Maltese language, serving as a basic instruction for students choosing different routes in employment and post-secondary education.

The ministry is now planning to introduce simpler version of the Maltese exams aimed at foreign students seeking certification for University admission, or other vocational routes where Maltese might not necessarily be required.

The ministry has been unclear about the criteria employed not to discriminate between SEC students, and has been on the receiving end of criticism that it was devaluing the language.

Grima also expressed further misgivings for the plans for the creation of a “vocational route” in secondary schools, arguing that since there will be a new version of the Maltese SEC exam as from May 2022 – consisting of two papers catering for different levels according to students’ skills – there was no need for a different exam.

“It is clear that for the ministry, vocational Maltese and SEC Maltese have different levels,” maintaining that the ministry was giving the impression of a system of “different routes” where the only difference are the teaching methods adopted, while still requiring different exams that however carry the same qualification level of MQF3.

“We believe that this is just a way of lowering the level of Maltese while giving the same certification,” Grima said. “The impoverishment of the national language will be institutionalised under the guise of different syllabi, which will in actual fact gradually erode the fundamental contents of Maltese (such as grammar, reading and writing).”