The question on divorce in the religion O level which students sat for last week was within the syllabus, the Education Ministry said yesterday.
Questions on the Christian attitude towards marriage have been included in all exam papers for the past nine years, including topics like divorce, cohabitation and indissolubility, a spokesman said.
The question read: “How should a Christian answer to the statement: Divorce would be justified when mutual love is no longer present between the married couple.”
The Yes for Divorce movement on Saturday complained about the question, saying teachers told students they would fail if they argued in favour of divorce legislation.
When contacted yesterday, a spokesman said the ministry looked into the matter and found that the question was within the syllabus.
“According to the syllabus, religious knowledge offered by Matsec is based on the teaching and doctrine of the Catholic Church,” he said.
“The ministry has nothing to do with the setting up of exam papers. An independent board, the Matsec board, is responsible for the setting and correction of the SEC exam papers. The examiners are approved by the Matsec board and ultimately by the Senate of the University.”
Asked if the question was fair in the current circumstances, he said: “The ministry feels that those who set the examination question should always be sensitive and judicious in the way questions are set.”
He did not say whether students were meant to give the Christian view on the act of divorce or its legislation but said: “In their replies, students have to show whether or not they grasped the issues covered in the syllabus of religious knowledge. The marking of the exam paper is based on these criteria.”
Speaking yesterday, the Marriage Without Divorce movement said it had nothing to do with the examination. The exam question had been drafted in January when the referendum had not yet been announced. Campaigner Anna Vella pointed out it was just an exam question in a religion paper and religion, like all subjects, had its syllabus and regulations.
Dr Vella cautioned that such issues were being blown out of proportion and were deviating from the real issue – that on Saturday the public has to vote as to whether they wanted the proposed divorce Bill to be enacted.