One in every five students who sat for their maths O level in May failed the subject, with similar results obtained by those who sat for the Maltese exam.
Both maths and Maltese are considered ‘core subjects’, meaning they are compulsory throughout primary and secondary schooling and are also required in tertiary education. Along with maths and Maltese, English is also a core subject.
Thousands of students received their results on Friday and, while many obtained a passing grade in several exams, hundreds of others failed the three core subjects.
Of the three subjects, students fared worst in maths, with over 20 per cent of those who sat for the exam only managing an unclassified grade – ‘U’.
Students who fail to obtain a grade of between 1 and 7 are awarded a U grade, meaning they did not pass the exam.
Of the 4,336 students that signed up for the maths exam, only 279 obtained the highest grade. There were also 417 students who did not show up for the exams and were, therefore, awarded an ‘Absent’ grade.
In 2021, the situation had been marginally better, with 18 per cent of those who sat for the maths exam failing it.
A good portion of students of Maltese also struggled to obtain a pass mark, with 17 per cent of them getting a U grade.
This figure is only slightly better than that of the past two years when 19 per cent of the students who sat for the Maltese exam failed it.
There were just 141 students of the 3,813 registered for the Maltese exam who obtained the highest grade.
Meanwhile, 478 students out of the 4,227 who sat for the English exam failed the subject. This translates to around 11 per cent of the students. This again meant there was only a slight improvement over 2021, when 12 per cent of the students had failed.
Only 184 students scored a top grade in English.
In recent months, the three core subjects have repeatedly made headlines after it was announced that, come October, those applying to study at the Junior College will only require one pass mark in one of the three subjects.
In the past, passes in all three subjects were needed for entry into the college.
Students will still be required to obtain a pass in the core subjects they failed during their time in post-secondary education, as these are nonetheless still needed to join the University of Malta.
Academics working with post-secondary students have criticised the decision and raised questions on the validity of lowering the minimum requirements.
On Friday, hours before the latest results were published, a group of lecturers joined forces against the rule, saying basic knowledge in the “two official languages and mathematics is essential”.
The decision, however, has been defended by the university, with pro-rector and academic Carmen Sammut saying it would give students the opportunity to keep studying even if they failed a subject or two.