The gender gap that exists among students who qualify to go to university continued to grow this year, with the latest report on the Matsec exams putting girls even further ahead than in the previous year.
In 2004, 29 per cent of all the females born in 1986 - the age group who would be finishing sixth form - obtained the Matriculation Certificate qualifying them for entry to university. Only 16.2 per cent of boys the same age did so.
In the previous year the figures were 27.5 per cent and 16.4 per cent respectively.
Last year, 69.3 per cent of candidates born in 1986 and 61.9 per cent of all candidates (of all age groups) obtained the Matriculation Certificate. To earn a Matriculation Certificate, candidates must obtain passes in five subjects at intermediate and advanced levels selected from both the humanities and the sciences, as well as in Systems of Knowledge.
The certificate was launched in 1997, and the candidature has grown ever since. Last year, 2,233 students sat for the exams, 7.5 per cent more than in 2003 and a 70.6 per cent jump on 1997. This growth is of course reflected in the increasing number of students attending university.
The five most popular subjects at advanced level were pure maths, English, accounting, physics and biology, in that order. A significantly higher proportion of females sat for languages as well as accounting, biology, chemistry, home economics, marketing, philosophy, religious knowledge and sociology. There were more male candidates for pure maths, physics and computing.
The academic gap between boys and girls is not as wide at Secondary Education Certificate level, although still of concern. This year, in fact, it narrowed marginally, if only because the decline in pass marks obtained by girls was more pronounced than for boys.
According to the SEC report 2004, 31.1 per cent of boys born in 1988, who would have been school leavers last year, obtained the necessary passes to qualify them for entry into Form VI, compared to 44.6 per cent of females. The year before the figures were 30.4 per cent and 47.8 per cent.
Indeed, girls tend to do better at all educational levels, a trend borne out internationally. One possible reason is a tendency to be more diligent in their studies.
Among all candidates at SEC level, the mean pass rate was 74.6 per cent when Grades 1-7 are considered and 57.8 per cent when Grades 1-5 (necessary for entry into sixth form) are taken.
The reports are published by the Matsec Support Unit of the University of Malta.