Five students had their Systems of Knowledge marks revised from a failing grade to a C after an internal quality assurance exercise.

Sources told the Times of Malta the students had not requested a revision themselves. They were therefore surprised when they received a letter informing them that their Systems of Knowledge examination grade had been changed from an F to a C. This even led some of them to wonder whether they could have likewise obtained higher grades in other subjects, the sources said.

Contacted about the matter, a university spokesman confirmed the upgrade after the review exercise. According to the spokesman, five students who sat for the September session had their marks revised upwards.

The spokesman said that such “quality assurance assignments” were conducted on a regular basis

Asked if this was the result of the students asking for a revision of their papers, the spokesman said that was not the case, pointing out that the move came following “an internal process, which is conducted periodically after the publication of results”.

The spokesman added that a qualification in Systems of Knowledge required students to earn a pass in the written exam, irrespective of the mark obtained for a project they also submitted.

“This explains the situation where a student has been awarded a C following the revision of marks, as the new examination mark, which accounts for 60% of the global score, is then computed with the mark obtained in the project that has a weight of 40%,” he noted.

Asked why the reassessment had been conducted, the spokesman said that such “quality assurance assignments” were conducted on a regular basis.

A total of 4,270 candidates sat for the September Sec and matriculation examinations in 65 subjects. When combining the results of the May and September exam sessions, 1,276 students, or 68 per cent, were awarded a matriculation certificate, made up of two Advanced level subjects, three Intermediate and the compulsory Systems of Knowledge.