A period of five years has been granted for students to achieve their Matriculation Certificate, instead of the current one year.
The change was approved by the University Senate. It comes into force from the next session of the Matsec exams in September.
The government in a statement said this would mean a better chance of success for Sixth Form students as well as youths and adults who wished to return to education.
It also announced that vocational subjects will be added to the subjects of the Secondary Education Certificate and the Matriculation Certificate.
The ministry said that as in the case of international exams, the changes would make the examinations system more flexible and reduce pressure on students.
It said the changes are the fruit of a working group set up by Education Minister Dolores Cristina in 2010 within the National Commission for Higher Education.