Students are being urged to attend a ‘press briefing’ today during which details on proposed reforms that could drastically change the sixth form syllabus will be given.

The Matriculation and Secondary Education Certificate office recommended on Thursday that sixth form students take up a foreign language besides Maltese and English as part of a new reform.

The full list of proposals will be made available within the framework of a public consultation exercise in the morning.

The reform would enrich students’ European identity and intercultural skills, the Matsec office said.

Student representatives said they would attend the briefing today to raise their concerns. They encouraged other students to be there too. The meeting takes place at Matsec’s office, at the University of Malta, at 10 am.

Studenti Demokristjani Maltin said the proposal “might be seen as a positive implementation as it will help future generations enrich their European identity and intercultural skills”. However, it insisted, students’ opinions should be given their utmost importance.

Students’ opinions should be given their utmost importance

“Furthermore, we believe that for a student to enrich his/her European culture, it is not necessary for them to learn a different language, as seen in the Erasmus programme,” it added.

Student organisation Pulse president, Owen Grech, said they were happy to hear that voluntary work might finally be taken seriously as part of the new reforms.

“We have already contacted Matsec with some of our concerns and were asked to be present for today’s meeting,” he said, adding the organisation would wait until after the meeting to give its full reaction to the assessment.

Both organisations encouraged students to be present at the meeting to air any concerns they might have.

Discussions to restructure the matriculation certificate examination had been ongoing for the past few years, Matsec said in a statement last week.

The reform also seeks to attribute greater importance and value to school assessment and offer “unprecedented support and recognition” of talented athletes, it said.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the original publication of the matriculation certificate examination regulations.

“By way of concluding these discussions, an improved and more student-centred matriculation programme is being proposed to meet the needs of 21st century learners, for whom the future holds major transformations,” it added.

The proposals also seek to “give merit” to students’ voluntary involvement in non-academic activities, including social engagement and enterprise. The activities can take place both during and after school hours, Matsec said.

A University of Malta spokesman said Matsec would be giving further details during today’s press briefing.