Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1197486
JAMES DEBONO JUST 153 students sat for their O'level in ethics, the newly introduced alterna- tive to religious studies in the Maltese curriculum, but ex- aminers noted that candidates showed "deep reflection, criti- cal thinking was found lacking among those sitting for the re- ligion exam." A total of 3,123 candidates sat for the religion exam. The number of students reg- istering for the ethics exam increased from 38 students in 2018 to 153 students in 2019. When absences are taken into account, the actual number of students who actually sat for the exam in 2019 was 125, up from just 31 the previous year. Official figures show that in total, 4,031 students opted for ethics instead of religion in 2018 in both primary and secondary level. Ethics, like religion, is not a compulsory subject to proceed to post- secondary level. The examination report for the 2019 session reports that students are "showing a better understanding of the ethical issues under examina- tion and a deeper element of reflection", with some of the responses offering strong and very valid arguments, sup- ported by suitable examples. This contrasts with the ob- servations made by examiners for the religion exam which was chosen by over 3,000 students. While noting that candidates are generally able to answer recall questions, they run into difficulties with questions that require critical thinking and analysis. The 2019 ethics exam tested students on their ability to reflect upon issues like drug abuse, healthy sexual rela- tions, freedom of expression and respect for others. The most popular question chosen by students dealt with the ethics of drug use. The greatest number of candidates took an ethical stand against drug abuse, arguing that it is an act of disrespect towards oneself because it thwarts the very notion of individual free- dom. But some students pro- ceeded to argue that society should not treat drug addicts as criminals but as people in need of help and care. The second most popular question dealt with sexual relations. Most of the replies showed a "profound under- standing on what constitutes healthy sexual relations, many also showing that sexuality is not reducible to sexual inter- course or sexual acts only". Candidates also associated respect for others to gender equality, arguing that no one has the right to impose on others due to their gender. Fewer students opted for a question on the limits of free- dom of expression in the con- text of racism and sexism, and most of these restricted their answers to social media only. Examiners described this as a "restrictive definition of media" which excludes news media or other types of mass media. Moreover, most re- sponses only referred to per- sonal communication, and not to public comments made by public figures. Few candi- dates made reference to hate speech and most candidates only recognised sexism in the media in the form of sexual 4 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 5 JANUARY 2020 NEWS Students who sit for ethics exam 'show deep reflection' Just 153 students take ethics O'level in contrast to 3,123 who sat for religious studies but who showed 'very little knowledge about what being a Christian entails' According to the examiners most have "very little knowledge about what being a Christian entails" The vast majority of the 1,044 candidates sitting for the religious studies 'paper B', who can only aim for a pass mark, showed "limited religious knowledge"