The Matsec board and support unit have called for a discussion on “all aspects” of exam assessment procedures, following the recent furore over late revision-of-paper reports.

It is meant for candidates who are not satisfied with the grade awarded to them

In a letter to The Times, the two bodies complain about “serious constraints of human and physical resources”.

Their statement comes a week after the Education Ministry promised that all students would receive their revision-of-paper results before their resits and not after.

The Ministry, which called the delays “unacceptable”, was responding to an article in The Times featuring complaints by parents of students taking their O level resits.

Originally, the Ministry had said that examiners were working within “tight” timeframes, pushed to their limits, and that Matsec never told students they would receive the results before the September resits.

Their statement changed after the article was published.

The statement by Matsec mirrors the Ministry’s earlier sentiments, pointing out that the revision of papers was not intended as a source of feedback to help prepare students for their resits.

“This misunderstanding needs to be corrected,” writes Matsec Board chairman Frank Ventura and Matsec Support Unit executive director Martin Musumeci.

“Revision of papers is meant for candidates who are not satisfied with the grade awarded to them,” they wrote in the letter.

Matsec also argues that there is a lack of understanding about the logistics involved when processing 1,284 requests for revision of papers, as there were this year.