Parents still in the dark about Junior Lyceum exams - PL

Applications for the May Junior Lyceum exams had not yet been issued, leaving parents of children in their final primary year confused, Labour Leader Joseph Muscat said yesterday.

Addressing the concluding session of a three-day discussion organised by the Labour Party (PL) on the education reform, Dr Muscat said parents of children who were due to sit for the exams still had no idea whether the exams would be held, although applications were usually issued in November.

Parents were wondering whether the Junior Lyceum exams would be held in May because the applications had not yet been issued and principals and heads of schools were not able to give a reply, Dr Muscat said.

The Education Ministry said in reply that the applications would be issued in the near future after the consultation process on the education reform was closed.

The removal of the stressful Junior Lyceum exams was one of the promises made by the government as part of the ongoing education reform.

The reform aims to ease the transition from primary to secondary level, making it less stressful. The decision to promote students will be based on their sixth year final exam and on an assessment made at the end of the scholastic year.

The consultation process will be concluded in a few days, after which the government will take its decision, the ministry said.

It is only after hearing the parents and teachers' comments and proposals that the applications for the junior lyceum exam will be issued, the government said.

Dr Muscat also said the government did not publish a survey on how well prepared Maltese students were in Maths and science subjects because they were lagging far behind other European countries.

The study - Trends In International Maths And Science Survey - was held last year. Dr Muscat said teachers were asking why the results were not published. It seems the government decided not to publish them because Malta fared very badly in the two subjects.

The Education Ministry said it published the TIMMS results on December 12, 2008 and these were still posted on the Department of Information's website.

The results were also published in a magazine issued by the Education Directorate and a national conference on science would be held next month, the ministry said.

Dr Muscat said he was shocked to hear that children who seemed to have learning problems, such as dyslexia or autism, had to wait until they started Year 1 to receive help. Learning support assistants said they informed the authorities of autistic children in kindergarten years but these were only given help when they started Year 1. This meant that these children were left without any help for almost two years, Dr Muscat said.

He praised an initiative by the Kirkop local council that involved looking after children who were left alone at home because their parents both worked. Through the initiative, children were helped with their homework and kept busy until their parents arrive home.

Several children from primary and secondary schools participated in yesterday's discussion, raising such points as streaming and exams and calling for more physical education and drama lessons.

Some children agreed with streaming, saying that teachers could focus on students who needed more coaching. Others disagreed, arguing that students would not be encouraged or given the same opportunities as others.