Junior Lyceum exams ought to be abolished because the weight attributed to them leads to unwarranted stress on schoolchildren, educational psychologist Juan Camilleri believes.
"This reality should serve as a stark wake-up call to the government to tackle this problem since we know from research the increasing importance of emotional well-being in childhood in determining life chances and later social mobility."
The system tries to cram in too much material at primary level yet it does not yield particularly advantageous results.
Quoting from last year's Eurostat figures he said Malta has among the least number of students in the EU (53.7 per cent) who complete upper secondary education.
There seems to be a tendency where students appear somewhat de-motivated in secondary school, possibly after having been pressured too much with the 11+ (Junior Lyceum) exams, he said.
While children might not be able to appreciate the far-reaching implications of the exams, parents are aware of such implications and can transfer their anxiety.
This highlights the important role of parents to support and reassure their children to cope better with stress.
Teachers too have a supportive role to play even though they often face a "no-win situation". They battle with completing vast curriculum material before exam time, as well as the expectations of certain schools that aim to get as many students as possible into specific secondary schools.
When children experience high levels of stress they might report symptoms such as sickness, lack of sleep, nausea, loss of appetite, bedwetting at night, nightmares, problems relaxing or a constant feeling of unhappiness or sadness.
If a child experiences being a failure at this delicate stage, the chances of acquiring a lower self-worth are high. This is unfair especially when one keeps in mind that exam performance does not reflect a child's intelligence as a variety of factors - such as stress and ability to give a written output - come into play.
"Our system and, indeed, our children will benefit if we relax the pressure and high academic standards at primary school level and do away with stiff 11+ exams that mainly serve to place children in specific classes or schools and stream them according to their abilities," Mr Camilleri stressed.
"Although maintaining standards can be considered important, and this does not imply abolishing exams altogether, the risk is that the more we raise the stakes, the greater the risk that children are left behind.
"And the higher the number of children who are deemed as weak learners and who will require support in a system that does not allow them to learn at their own pace," he said.