Kurt Sansone
No decision yet on Junior Lyceum exam
The Education Ministry should decide in the coming days whether or not the Junior Lyceum exam will be held. Photo: Darrin Zammit Lupi
While Year 6 students have their heads buried in books studying for their Junior Lyceum exam it remains unclear whether they will be tested on five subjects or whether the exam will be held at all.
The Education Ministry confirmed a decision on the issue would be taken "in the coming days".
According to the plan of action published in November, when the ministry announced a reform document for the transition between primary and secondary school, the Junior Lyceum exam for the scholastic year 2008/2009 and the next should remain the same. However, the uncertainty over this year's exam is cause for concern among students and parents because the exam is normally held in May, barely two months away.
The concerns were raised on Sunday during a seminar on education organised by the Labour Party (PL) for students and parents.
Applications for the Junior Lyceum exams are normally issued in November with the exams held in May. No applications were issued last November.
The Junior Lyceum and common entrance exams feature prominently in the government's education reform. The idea is to do away with both and, in the case of the Junior Lyceum exams, replace them with forms of assessment that do not lead to streaming in secondary schools.
The consultation document on the reform was launched in November and the ministry extended the consultation period to February 15. The ministry said a lot of feedback was received and is "currently being evaluated".
"In the coming days the ministry will be in a position to make a final decision on this evaluation and, consequently, also on the Junior Lyceum examination. In the meantime, schools continued to prepare students for this examination as usual. The final decision will be based on the evaluation of all feedback received," a ministry spokesman said.
Asked what subjects would be tested in the forthcoming exams, the ministry did not answer. Students have so far been tested in Maltese, English, maths, religion and social studies.
Normally, students sit for the Junior Lyceum exam to gain entry into the state secondary Junior Lyceum schools. Students who did not make the grade proceeded to the area secondary schools.
The new college system does away with the distinction between Junior Lyceums and area secondary schools, putting into doubt the necessity of the exam.
On the other hand, students who wanted to proceed with their secondary education in Church schools also sit for the common entrance exam.
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GiovdeMartino
Mar 5th 2009, 17:12
Our students have always been among the best in the world, and this in spite of our great limitations. Maltese students competing abroad with foreigners have always come out with flying colours. Without exams and streaming our educ. will go to t he dogs. We have to accept the fact that nature has not given the same talents to everyone. Neither physically nor mentally. Our system works properly, perfectly no, but properly. And never change a winning formation. In sports, that is.
Joseph V. Grech
Mar 4th 2009, 22:56
I appeal to the Minister for Education, indeed to the Cabinet, not to do away with exams. As an ex-Headteacher I am of the opinion that children need an incentive to read, work and study. Parents may be relieved but will one day regret the day exams are stopped completely! Study iwill be replaced by computer games, loitering, mishief making...Everyone will be the loser...the slow learners and the best achievers. The state too will suffer in the end. Trim down the exams...but, for goodness's sake leave them there!
GiovDeMartino@HonMinister
Mar 4th 2009, 17:42
Ministru hu l-parir tieghi: L-Ezamijiet u li streaming HALLIHOM HEMM. Minghajr ezamijiet jispiccaw l-incentivi tat-tfal u tal-ghalliema. Hallu kollox kif dejjem kien uhadem. L-istress fuq it-tfal qed issir mil-hajja ferm imgerfxa, imma moderna, ta' hafna u hafna genituri. Jekk tnehhu l-istreaming jergghu jdahhluh it-teachers baxx, baxx. Bilfors!
Joseph Castillo
Mar 4th 2009, 15:36
@Simon James Schembri
I read with interest your comments. Could you please tell us how you arrived to this conclusion? Maybe you could direct us to some literature on the education standard of English students? The Education department will not be removing the JL examination, it will be eliminating the use of JL exam to segregate the 'bright' student from the 'not so bright' student. Now do you really believe that the JL exam is currently the right tool to segregate students. I wonder what would have happened to Einstein if sat for the JL entrance examinations!!
Joseph Castillo
Mar 4th 2009, 15:31
@D.Borg
I agree with you. I am not an educator, but recent publications by the Education Dept confirm that the JL examination is causing stress on students. In addition, the JL examination is not really achieving what it is supposed to do because JL students are not achieving the expected educational marks when compared to students attending private/church schools. Therefore it is unethical and probably a liability to allow students to go through this stress and condemn them to false segregation. The JL examination is simple creating False negatives and false positives!!
N.Calleja
Mar 4th 2009, 13:12
Mr.Schembri, you do not learn to sit for exams but to educate yourself for future life. Don't blame the minister...blame yourself for wasting your time and our money!
simon james schembri
Mar 4th 2009, 12:58
Dolores Chirstina l aqwa li dejjem iddur l- iskejjel tifrah bis- Sahha fid- Diversita'. L- Ingilterra ukoll nehhew xeba' ezamijiet, u illum it- tfal inglizi l- iktar tfal injoranti ta' l- Ewropa. Jekk tridu aqraw ir- rapporti ta' l-UN u l- OECD...ha taraw x' jigri meta tnehhi l- ezamijiet.
Jien ghadni student u nista nghidilha lill ministru li kieku ma jkollniex ezamijiet ma nistudjaw XEJN u ma nitghallmu xejn. Ghalxejn idduru mal- lewza. What gets assessed, gets learned... hallikom mill-istress. Biex ikollok human capital tajjeb trid taghfas hafna fuqu ha jkun l- ahjar fid- dinja...
d. borg
Mar 4th 2009, 11:42
The elimination of the JL exam was supposed to help students do away with the stress. What about this year's children? Is'nt this stress unnecessary when they don't even know whether the exams will take place or not, and in the meantime they are studying hard and maybe even going to private lessons. What is the Ministry waiting for? Vera tlifna t-triq f'kollox.
P Debono
Mar 4th 2009, 11:30
What a sad state of affairs. Just like us University students were forced to study without knowing whether our exams were to be held (until a week before these exams!), so too these poor children have to suffer the same futile trauma.
It is obvious that Ms. Cristina is incapable of running the Education Ministry in the way Dr. Louis Galea was, and she should resign with immediate effect.
P.S. I see that no Ministers' children will be taking the Junior Lyceum exams this year....
Martin Portelli
Mar 4th 2009, 11:21
Decision making is evidently not this department's forte! One hopes that the much hyped reform is not subject to the same 'creative and visionary' decision making process as that pertaining to this year's JC exam. If it is, then God help us all! Malta's education system needs action not dusty reams of unaccomplished policy and clueless dithering!!! In the mean time Maltese children fall by the Educational wayside in their thousands!.