Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1080741
NEWS 5 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 10 FEBRUARY 2019 JAMES DEBONO NEARLY one-third of stu- dents born in 2002 failed to obtain a pass in at least five SEC subjects, risking to join the rank of early school-leav- ers if they do not participate in further education or train- ing, according to a statistical report issued by MATSEC. "Unless these youths… are encouraged to improve their attainment through further education or training, they will increase the popula- tion of early school leavers to their personal detriment and that of the economy," MATSEC chairman Profes- sor Frank Ventura warned. The amount of students which failed to obtain passes in five subjects has remained stable from last year, rising slightly from 30.4% to 31.8%. On the other hand, 2,679 16-year-olds obtained five or more SEC passes (Grade 1 to 7), becoming automatically eligible to continue their studies in post-secondary in- stitutions like Junior College or MCAST. A trend that requires further study according to MATSEC is that while the percent- age of the 16-year-olds that qualify for admission to Sixth Form level increased from 37.5% in 2004 to around 49% in 2014, this percentage has remained constant in the last five years. "Is this a plateau which cannot be improved or improved with considerable effort?" the authors of the re- port ask. Females performing better again The report shows that in 2018, 48% of 16-year-olds also obtained the passes (Grade 1 to 5) required to pursue their education into Sixth Form. But as in previous years the report points at a wide gap between males and females. While 53.4% of females were eligible to continue their aca- demic studies, only 43.1% of males did so. "Female candi- dates outperform male candi- dates and, in fact, in the ma- jority of subjects, the largest percentage of candidates who obtained Grades 1, 2, and 3 were females while the largest percentage of candidates who obtained Grade U were male". Church school students get best results The report also confirms pre- vious trends showing church school students achieving the best results. While 75.1% and 64.6% of church and in- dependent school candidates respectively sat for examina- tions in at least nine subjects, only 42.6% of State school candidates did so. Students in the private in- dependent sector were also more inclined to study sci- ence subjects and to diversify their language choices. Overall in 2018, 13.7% of 16-year-olds applied for ex- aminations in the three sci- ence subjects with severe dif- ferences between sectors. While 21.1% and 19.2% of church and independent school candidates respec- tively registered for examina- tions in all three science sub- jects, less than 10.0% of State school candidates did so. Chemistry least favoured science subject The statistics also show that Chemistry remains a taboo subject. The largest category of candidates registered for one science subject. Although more males opted for Physics as their single science subject, most of the candidates who registered for Biology only were females. Chemistry is rarely taken as one's only sci- ence subject. The largest category of can- didates opting for two science subjects registered for Biolo- gy and Physics, again suggest- ing that most candidates shy away from choosing Chemis- try. The majority of candidates who studied more than one science subject were females. 13.7% of candidates born in 2002 applied for the three sciences (11.4% of boys and 16.4% of girls). Most students opt for only one foreign language When it comes to foreign languages, most candidates (65%) applied for one foreign language examination, with Italian being the most com- mon. For students sitting for two language examinations, Italian and French were by far the most prevalent choice. But while 29.2% of candi- dates from State and inde- pendent schools did not even sit for a single foreign lan- guage, the percentage drops down to 16.3% for church schools. The church school sector boasts of 19% of its candidates registered for two foreign lan- guage subjects. This latter percentage drops to 5.4% and 8% for State and independent schools respectively. While 52% and 48.1% of State and church school stu- dents registering for one for- eign language chose Italian, 31.6% of those coming from independent schools do so. Most candidates from in- dependent schools opt for French (52.3%). The 2018 SEC examination session was the second ses- sion where students could sit for exams in vocational sub- jects like Agribusiness, Engi- neering Technology, Health & Social Care, Hospitality, and Information Technology. 532 opt for vocational subjects A total of 532 candidates (335 males and 197 females) registered for a vocational subject. Of these, 44 (35 males and 9 females) registered for the vocational subject of choice as their only SEC ex- amination. Notably, only male candi- dates registered for SEC Ag- ribusiness and Engineering Technology. These subjects are vocational in nature. Most of the other SEC vo- cational subjects are also marked by a large gender dif- ference in terms of registra- tions: in Information Tech- nology, 84.6% of registrants are male, while in Health and Social Care, 85.5% of regis- trants are female. This is not repeated in Hospitality where approximately half of regis- trants are male. Third of students at risk of becoming early school leavers Female candidates outperform male candidates in their MATSEC exams, but chemistry remains the least favoured subject for Maltese candidates