Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/712794
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 17 JULY 2016 6 News JAMES DEBONO THE number of candidates sit- ting for the English O-level ex- amination has continued to decrease over the past year, con- firming a declining trend that has been taking place over the past decade. This represents a decline of 122 from last year and a sub- stantial 535 decline since 2014. Compared to 2010 the number has gone down by 1,081, but this has to be seen in the context of an ageing population and a de- clining cohort of students in this age group. In an indication that it is low achievers who are mostly opting out of the Secondary Education Certificate examination system, the sharpest decline was seen in the number of candidates sitting for Paper B, an easier option cho- sen by the majority of candidates. These have decreased from 2,156 in 2014 to 1,695 now, a drop of 461. In the same time frame the number of those who sit for Paper A only decreased by 74. The total number of candi- dates registering for at least one O-level went down slightly by 79 from 5,878 to 5,799 between 2015 and 2016 and by a substan- tial 800 since 2014. While the number of students sitting for English has contin- ued to decline, the number of candidates sitting for their Maths O-level has gone up by 222 over last year's figure but is 452 lower than in 2014. The number of candidates sitting for Maltese increased slightly by 15 but remains 336 lower than in 2014. The results of the SEC 2016 May session have shown that the percentage of SEC passes (Grades 1 to 5) in the main sub- jects was approximately equal to that of the last couple of years, with a small percentage increase in English, Mathematics and Physics and a small percentage decrease in Maltese. Experts who spoke to MaltaTo- day last January attributed the drop to an increase in educa- tional opportunities for 16-year- olds who do not require a pass in these exams. Such avenues that do not re- quire an SEC qualification in Mathematics, include the Gio- vanni Curmi Higher Secondary school in Naxxar, the Malta Col- lege of Arts, Science and Tech- nology (MCAST), the Institute for Tourism Studies (ITS) and now the new school in Gzira which caters exclusively for students without SEC qualifica- tions. "This non-academic post-16 branch is expanding and gaining prestige and credibility by the day. I see the expansion of this sector as one of the more impor- tant developments in local edu- cation," Dr Michael Buhagiar, who lectures prospective Maths teachers in the Faculty of Educa- tion, had told MaltaToday. Decline in English O-level candidates continues unabated Maths O-level candidates increase by 222 but still 400 lower than in 2013, decline in English sharper among candidates sitting for easier 'Paper B' English on a declining trend? Year Candidates 2016 4,611 2015 4,733 2014 5,146 2013 5,121 2012 5,326 2011 5,372 2010 5,692 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Malta ratified the Istanbul Convention in 2014, and it be- came law a few months later. Despite its passing into the stat- ute books, the Maltese legisla- tion still needed to be updated to bring it in line with the policies of the Istanbul Convention, in- cluding the definition of domes- tic violence and rape. Last year, an interministe- rial committee set up between the Ministry for Civil Liberties and the Ministry for the Family worked on developing a set of proposals based on the Istan- bul Convention, with the aim of amending laws, introducing policies and strengthening struc- tures. The amendments are over- arching, including calls which have long been made by victim rights advocates: as opposed to the victims packing their bags and leaving the household, there should be an interim measure where it is the perpetrator who leaves. A second change is that a vic- tim will no longer be able to 'for- give' the perpetrator for violence suffered and thereby force the police to drop their case in court. The Ministry for Civil Liber- ties roped in civil society to help with the drafting of the amend- ments. Human rights advocate Roberta Lepre, chairperson of Victim Support Malta, has been tasked with developing the legal framework. MaltaToday is informed that the Domestic Violence Act is set to become the 'Gender-based Violence and Domestic Violence Act', giving greater strength to the policies as set out in the Istanbul Convention, which will be incorporated in the new framework. Once finalised and before the document is issued for public consultation, the government will invite all stakeholders, in- cluding women's organisations, for a briefing on the proposed legislative changes. Under the new law, domestic violence will refer to "all acts, or omissions entailing physical, sexual, psychological or eco- nomic violence that occur with- in the family or domestic unit or between former or current Broader definition against a person's