Following the COVID-19 outbreak in Malta last March, the MATSEC examinations period was postponed to start this August. However, the second wave of cases that erupted over the last couple of weeks has left the students in question concerned about the safety and certainty of the exams.
Since the pandemic has revisited the islands in full force, the Junior College Student Council (KSJC) has been “in regular contact with the relevant authorities seeking clarifications, updates and advice on the ongoing developments regarding the impact of COVID-19 on MATSEC examinations.” However, as of yet, they have not received an official reply.
The urgency of the situation has led over 150 students to gather and send a mass of emails to the relevant authorities …
… including the Minister for Education Owen Bonnici, Minister for Health Chris Fearne and the MATSEC board. An online event was created by the students to coordinate these replies. The plethora emails sent, detailing the students’ grievances and pleas for clarity, were only met by cold and automatic replies.
Student organisations Pulse and SDM have also posted on Facebook in solidarity with the students. They welcomed solutions and suggestions by students to resolve the situation, as well as invited them to air their grievances and concerns so that they could be forwarded more directly to the relevant authorities.
Amidst the stresses that MATSEC examinations foster, students are being pelted with ulterior stress regarding their health and well-being. Their pleas for clarity are being dismissed with only a few weeks till their supposed examinations.
