University entrance requirements should ensure that the applicant will succeed in the discipline for which they are applying, rather than exclude people by making unnecessary demands. Thus Education Minister Evarist Barolo is absolutely right when he says “exceptions should be made in case of subjects like Maltese and Maths, especially when they are not crucial for the course being followed.”
However, it is a mistake to suggest that this should only be extended to those who have been labelled as “intellectually impaired”. This is a catch-all expression which gives no indication of the actual impairment or of its negative effects.
In order to demonstrate a breadth of interest, it is advisable to have a minimum number of subjects, say six. As the university teaches in English, then fluency in reading and writing in that language is a necessary requirement for any applicant. Where interaction will be required with the public, such as medicine, law, social work or engineering, then fluent spoken Maltese is required, but there is no need for a knowledge of Maltese grammar. For STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) mathematics is necessary, as is a requirement in the language of the subject being studied for an Arts subject.
If the entrance requirements were tailored to individual courses, then ‘exceptions’ would not be required. Any entrant meeting the entry requirements would be capable of succeeding, regardless of any impairment. Like anyone else, if they did not meet the specific course requirement, then they should not be applying for the course anyway.
The aim should not be to lower the standard required for admission, but to make it relevant to the discipline and to widen the ways in which the barrier can be approached and then cleared. Alternate methods and appropriate adjustments to the means of testing should be introduced. One way would be to use ‘online’ examinations that are broadly based, open to everyone and can be taken at any age, that test reasoning power as much as memory and do not rely so much on rote learning of facts (never to be used again).
Optional, specific subject-oriented examinations could test ability in those areas. Such exams are widely used in the United States as GED (General Education Diploma) and even as CLEP (College Level Equivalency) Tests.
Accommodations can still be made within the test-taking facilities for specific disabilities, but there will be a reduction in ‘labelling’ and a level playing field for all applicants.