Only one student has applied to stretch their sixth form Junior College studies over four years, Prime Minister Robert Abela said on Tuesday.
The solitary application for the Junior College "flexi" course casts into question the college's decision to introduce a four-year study option on the grounds that many students are being forced to work as family breadwinners while studying.
Addressing a cabinet meeting on education, Abela said that, in the education sector, the government’s main effort was to ensure that no child was left behind.
He referred to plans for the introduction of a special course at Junior College that would see students able to stretch the two-year course over four years.
Abela said the government "knew" that "only a few" would sign up for the course, "but we still wanted to give this student the chance to reach the full potential.
He said he was glad to say that the new scholastic year had just got under way without any major hiccups.
Back in August, the college’s vice-principal had said that a rise in the number of teenage breadwinners has led the Junior College to offer students the option of doubling the number of years it takes to complete their studies.
Roderick Vassallo had said that an increasing number of students were telling the college authorities that they had no option but to work.
By spreading the course over four years, they are able to do that while also studying without having to drop out of school.
Called the Flexi programme, the four-year course enables students to focus on a subject at A level and two at Intermediate level during the first two years. At the end of the first two years, the student then sits for three exams.
During their third and fourth years at the college, they will then focus on a second A-level subject as well as two further subjects at Intermediate level.
In this way, by the end of the four years and if they pass all the exams, the students would be in possession of two subjects at A level and four at Intermediate, just like their peers who opt for the two-year programme.
With the six passes in hand, the students may then apply to get into university.