I think we can all agree that students from various educational institutions should be encouraged to pursue their studies at a higher level. However, presently, students are continuously facing a number of setbacks which are definitely disheartening them in furthering their academic studies.
To begin with, fees have gradually increased: Registration Fees for MATSEC examinations (SEC, Intermediate and Advanced) is €15 per application; Subject Fee at SEC Level is €21, €25 at Intermediate Level and €28 at Advanced level – that excluding an additional fee for subjects with a practical component. In addition, revision of paper fee per subject is €35 at SEC Level, €40 at Intermediate Level and €45 at Advanced Level. To top it all off, apart from this, efficiency is still not evident to the student and delays in publication of results are still a problem that is continually avoided.
This brings us to a second argument which mostly applies to SEC Level students. At this level, students are complaining that the time span between publication of the results and application for a post-secondary institution is too short, forcing students to make an abrupt decision depending on the grades they acquire, given that there is only a weekend in between. In addition, students who decide to drop certain subjects after having sat for them and acquired a satisfactory grade need more time to settle such issues with the administration in order to be officially exempted from attending classes of the particular subject.
Finally, such delays in publication of results are undoubtedly exerting unnecessary stress on students who are trying to make plans for their immediate future. A that the MATSEC Board sets a deadline to the examiners and a stipulated date when the results should be published, so that if a revision of paper is requested there will be enough time for the student to know if s/he is eligible for admission into University.