The Education Commissioner has proposed restructuring the Maltese SEC paper, placing more emphasis on communication and less on the linguistic aspect of the subject.
Addressing a press conference during which he presented a report about how to improve the accessibility of SEC and matriculation exams for children with special needs, Prof. Charles Farrugia said in the report that the Maltese language requirement for University entry presented a "formidable conundrum".
This dilemma was compounded by nationalist sentiments, innuendos of snobbish elitism and political hesitancy, the report says.
He highlighted that parents of children with special educational needs claimed that their children often could not tackle two languages as part of their curriculum.
Unfortunately, language specialists did not agree on the issue, spreading confusion, claims and counter-claims, the report says.
Prof. Farrugia said in the report that it would be extremely unfair if, as a result of the “perplexity”, candidates with special needs were denied post-secondary and tertiary education.
Between 2014 and 2016, the report found that only 28.7 per cent of special needs candidates passed Maltese, whereas 66.2 per cent of other candidates obtained a pass grade in the subject.
A total of 31.3 per cent of special needs candidates passed English, compared to 63.5 per cent of other candidates.
Dyslexic students suffered with spelling, yet they were penalised for spelling mistakes when sitting for language exams
Maths saw all candidates across the board fare badly, with 24.1 per cent of special needs candidates passing the subject, and 54 per cent of other candidates registering a pass grade.
In explaining these results, Prof. Farrugia cautioned that the disparity in performance should not be put down to special needs candidates’ innate conditions, or insufficient access support by the University. He said further studies were needed to establish firm conclusions.
He said dyslexic students suffered with spelling, yet they were penalised for spelling mistakes when sitting for language exams.
He questioned why children were not allowed a much wider use of technological aids, noting that spell checks and the use of calculator had become the norm in everyday life. The use of such equipment, with the proper supervision, would not jeapordise the validity of the University’s exam certificates, he said.