Improving MATSEC

It is sometimes said that examinations are a necessary evil. Examiners are in the unenviable position of sometimes having the task of assigning a failing grade to candidates. If one could reduce this ugly part of examinations and decrease the number of students who fail an examination, the better the quality of life would be for students, their teachers and their examiners. This is what the Matsec review is proposing.

The most salient outcome of the exercise is definitely the recommendation of pushing back the exam sessions by five weeks from April/May to June/July. This measure will give students more time to cover their syllabi, enables the teachers to have a full final teaching year, allowing time for revision, without the pressure induced by the need to cover fresh material up to the eve of the examination.

All this helps to alleviate the stress associated with these examinations and allows for a better quality of life. Even if the pass rate is not increased this measure could allow for other steps that could follow this good start.

This recommendation is all the more welcome by those intending to join the course of Medicine and Surgery. The special requirements for the course of Medicine state that the two science subjects at A-level and one at Intermediate level must not only be obtained at Grade B, but they must be passed at the same session. Therefore these candidates will certainly be able to prepare themselves better in a less stressful manner.

The suggested reforms will also mean that those who do not obtain the required grades have another chance in December when they can re-sit all the subjects together. This is another plus to the recommended reformed MATSEC system which has not as yet received due publicity.

It has been noted that those who join the science-based courses by obtaining their special requirements in the September session were struggling with their course at the University. Students will now be able to study until December before reattempting those subjects in which they are weak. The standing year they spend till they do the re-sit will help them to take studies with less stress until they have gained the necessary competence to join a demanding course.

This is certainly a much better system than the present one, where the weak students failing to obtain the required grades in May cram their studies throughout all summer to September to just make up the minimum grades to join a demanding course in October with no time to relax at all.

No wonder demanding courses are becoming stressful for both professors and students who are struggling against time to keep up with the required standards. The new system would certainly help to solve this problem. It is also very encouraging to see a dynamic Minister of Education already acknowledging the wisdom of this report.

If most agree that this is a great improvement, why not start the system in the coming June examinations? Why wait? Let's be dynamic. Let us ensure that good ideas are acknowledged and put into action without delay. One could then consider the possibility that some courses, especially those where it is logistically possible and cost-effective, could start with a biannual entry, one in October and one in February. This used to be done with great success in the nursing courses not so many years ago. Good steps can only lead to better ones.

Congratulations to the MATSEC Review Board who after only a decade of existence of the MATSEC examination, did not hesitate to suggest reforms for the good of all.