The Malta Federation of Professional Associations has expressed serious concerns at news of a 40 per cent fail rate in O’levels among over 4,000 students who sat for core subjects Maltese, Maths, and English.
Of these, 40 per cent failed Maths, 30.5 per cent failed Maltese, while 23 per cent failed English language according to MATSEC's general statistics report for the May examination session.
From some 36,000 exam papers, around 20 per cent received a ‘U’ (Unclassified) grade.
“It is clear that a large percentage of students are struggling to reach the minimum standards, especially in core subjects, together with a dearth in chosen and regrettably failed STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) subjects,” the MFPA said.
“This is and should be alarming, especially since these same students will be, in a year or two, starting their formal preparation for their future profession or occupation,” it added.
The MFPA said the disconcerting results called for a deep analysis of the failings of the education system for the government “to implement effective short, medium and long-term actions to mitigate and upscale education in Malta [...] The MFPA is ready to assist and participate actively in such a dialogue.”
O-levels are graded over a number scale between one to eight, with grades 1-5 considered a pass and grades 6-8 considered a fail in the chosen subject.
A ‘U’ grade generally indicates that the exam could not be marked according to MATSEC’s grading rubric and is also considered a failing grade.
Overall, some 60 per cent of students achieved a passing grade in their O-levels, a slight decrease from the 62 per cent registered in the May session of 2022.
Conversely, 32% obtained failing grades in 2023, a slight uptick from 30 per cent the year prior. Some 7 per cent of students were registered as absent from their exams, which remained largely on par with 6.7 per cent of absentees registered in 2022.
In core subjects, such as Mathematics, just over half of the students received a passing grade at 51 per cent, while 40 per cent received a failing grade. 8 per cent did not turn up for the exam.
Just over 30 per cent of students received a failing grade for Maltese, while around 60 per cent passed. Six per cent were absent. Almost three-quarters (72.98%) of students passed their English language exam, while 23 per cent failed. Four per cent did not turn up for their exam.