Matriculation Certificate Examination Regulations, 2005

L.N. 189 of 2005

EDUCATION ACT

(CAP. 327)

Matriculation Certificate Examination Regulations, 2005

IN exercise of the powers conferred upon him by sections 30 (5) and 31

(6) of the Education Act (Cap. 327), the Chancellor of the University of Malta

has promulgated the following regulations made by the Senate of the

University of Malta by virtue of the powers conferred upon it by sections 31

and 35 of the said Act

Citation and Interpretation

(1) These regulations may be cited as the Matriculation Certificate

Examination Regulations, 2005.

(2) In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires -

“the Certificate” means the Matriculation Certificate;

“the Examination” means the Matriculation Certificate Examination; and

“the MATSEC Board” means the Matriculation and Secondary Education

Certificate Examinations Board.

(3) The MATSEC Board retains to itself the interpretation of the regulations

and syllabuses relating to its examinations.

Applicability

(1) These regulations shall apply to the Examination held from 1 st January

2005 onwards.

(2) The Examination shall also be subject to the Conduct of the Matriculation

and Secondary Education Certificate Examinations Regulations, 1996, published as

Legal Notice 62 of 1996, and to any other relevant statutes, regulations and bye-laws of

the University.

Levels and Sessions of the Examination

(1) The Examination shall be held at two levels: Advanced (AM) Level and

Intermediate (IM) Level.

(2) There shall be two sessions of the Examination: the First Session shall be

held during the period April to June, and the Supplementary Session shall be held in

September of each year.

Structure of the Examination

The Examination is offered in a wide range of subjects divided among groups

structured in such a way as to ensure that all candidates study subjects from both the

Humanities and the Science areas (as specified in regulation 5). Candidates shall be

required to take

(a) one subject chosen from each of Groups 1, 2, and 3 and two other subjects

chosen from any of the four groups indicated in regulation 5;

(b) two of the five subjects must be at Advanced Level and the other three

subjects at Intermediate Level; and

(c) Systems of Knowledge.

Subjects of the Examination

In the First Session and in the Supplementary Session the subjects offered shall

be the following

Group l: Maltese, Arabic, English, French, German, Greek, Italian, Latin,

Russian, Spanish;

Group 2: Accounting, Economics, Geography, History, Marketing, Philosophy,

Religious Knowledge, Sociology;

Group 3: Applied Mathematics (Mechanics), Biology, Chemistry, Environmental

Science*, Physics, Pure Mathematics;

Group 4: Art, Computing, Engineering Drawing, Graphical Communication,

Home Economics and Human Ecology, Information Technology; Music;

Systems of Knowledge*.

* offered at Intermediate Level only

Choice of Subjects

(1) Any subject may be chosen but the following restrictions apply

(a) No subject may be offered at both Advanced and Intermediate Levels;

(b)

Not more than two of Accounting, Economics, and Marketing may be

offered;

(c) Environmental Science may not be offered with Biology, Chemistry, or

Physics;

(d) Computing may not be offered with Information Technology; and

(e) Engineering Drawing may not be offered with Graphical Communication. At

Intermediate Level the two subjects become one: Engineering Drawing and Graphical

Communication.

(2) No subject may be taken in both the Matriculation Certificate Examination

at Advanced or Intermediate Levels and in the Secondary Education Certificate

Examination at the same session.

Award of the Certificate

(1) The overall grade of the Certificate shall be based on the performance of

the candidates in the examinations in the five subjects taken and in Systems of

Knowledge.

(2) To qualify for the Certificate, candidates must pass the examinations

taken in one session (which may include a Supplementary Session as specified in

paragraphs (1) and (2) of regulation 8).

(3) The Certificate shall be awarded to candidates who obtain a pass in at

least one of the subjects offered from each of Groups 1, 2, and 3 and in Systems of

Knowledge, and a minimum of 44 grade points as indicated in paragraph (4) of this

regulation. It shall be awarded with a single overall grade to be given as A, B, or C in

descending order of merit.

(4) The overall grade shall be determined from the sum of the grade points

obtained in each subject as follows



Grade A

80 -100 grade points



Grade B

64 - 78 grade points



Grade C

44 - 62 grade points.

(5) The results obtained in the individual subjects shall be given as grades A,

B, C, D, and E in descending order of merit. F indicates Fail and ‘abs’ indicates

Absent for the examination. For the purpose of awarding the overall grade, grade

points shall be awarded for these results, up to a total of 100 grade points, as follows

Advanced Level

Intermediate Level

Grade A  30 grade points

Grade A  10 grade points

Grade B  24 grade points

Grade B 

8 grade points

Grade C  18 grade points

Grade C 

6 grade points

Grade D  12 grade points

Grade D 

4 grade points

Grade E 

Grade E 

6 grade points

2 grade points.

Supplementary Session

(1) Candidates shall be allowed to re-sit a maximum of three subjects as

follows: one subject at Advanced Level, one subject at Intermediate Level, and Systems

of Knowledge.

(2) Candidates shall be allowed to register for the Supplementary Session

irrespective of the grade obtained in the First Session.

Re-sit of the Examination

(1) Candidates who narrowly fail to obtain an overall Grade C following the

first session of examinations (May and September sittings) shall have their result

denoted by Grade N.

(2) Grade N shall be awarded to candidates who obtain a minimum of 40

grade points and can satisfy all the requirements for the award of the Certificate by

sitting the examination in one subject only.

(3) The results of candidates awarded Grade N shall be carried forward for a

maximum of two years. Such candidates shall be allowed to sit for one subject only.

This subject must be either a failed or a low graded subject or another subject from the

same group and the same level.

(4) Candidates who have obtained the Certificate or persons who are in

possession of other qualifications and are required by the University of Malta to obtain

passes at Advanced and/or Intermediate Level in order to be eligible for admission into

a University course, shall be allowed to sit for the examination at Advanced and/or

Intermediate Level in the required subject/s. In such cases, candidates shall receive a

transcript of results but a certificate shall only be awarded for passes at Advanced

Level.

Results

(1) The results sent to candidates shall show the subjects in which a pass

grade had been awarded as well as the subjects in which the standard required for the

lowest grade was not reached.

(2) Candidates who fail to qualify for the award of the Certificate shall be

given single subject certificates for any passes obtained at Advanced Level.

(3) An authenticated copy of the result may be obtained from the MATSEC

Support Unit against a fee as determined by the University.

Examination in Single Subjects

(1) Candidates may sit for examinations in single subjects at Advanced Level

only. In the case of a pass grade a certificate shall be issued.

(2) Such certificates shall, however, not be taken into consideration for the

granting of a Matriculation Certificate.

Registration

(1) Registration for the First Session of the Examination, on the appropriate

application form and accompanied by the relevant fee, must be made by the closing date

as published in the notice for registration. Applications submitted after the closing date

but by the published date for late applications shall be accepted if an additional fee is

paid.

(2) The Registrar may, at his discretion, accept applications for registration

for the First Session at a later date against the payment of a further additional fee.

(3)

Registration for the Supplementary Session shall be made during

the week following the publication of the First Session results.

Candidates shall

be allowed to register for the Supplementary Session only if they had also registered for

the First Session of the examination.

(4) The Registrar may, at his discretion, accept late applications for the

Supplementary Session after the closing date if an additional fee is paid.

(5) Alterations to the application form may only be made by the candidates

subject to the same conditions and additional fees applicable for late registration.

(6) Private candidates must submit their project descriptions as specified by

the syllabus.

Enquiries upon Results

The marking of papers and the results shall be final and binding on all

candidates and the MATSEC Board shall not, except in its absolute discretion, enter

into correspondence about results with candidates or their parents or any other person.

Candidates with Special Needs

(1) Candidates with special needs may be given the option to be exempted

from being examined in a particular component of the examination, such as an oral or a

practical examination. When candidates accept the option and their work is pro-rated to

compensate for the missing component, their certificate shall be endorsed as follows

‘Special arrangements were made to enable the candidate to be assessed

in this subject. Details may be obtained from the Registrar.’

(2) Such certificates shall only be issued as a last resort when ways cannot be

found of supporting candidates with special needs to satisfy examination requirements.

(3)

Applications requesting special arrangements shall be made on the

appropriate form, within the date stipulated by the MATSEC Board, and must be

endorsed by the Head of the candidate’s school and supported by appropriate medical or

other professional evidence issued within the two years previous to the examination.

Conduct during the Examination

(1)

Conduct during the Examination shall be governed by the statutes,

regulations and bye-laws of the University in force at the time of the examination.

(2) Candidates shall not be allowed into an examination room after the first

half hour of the examination, and they shall not be allowed to leave the examination

room, temporarily or permanently, during the first half hour and during the last quarter

of an hour of an examination.

(3) Mobile phones, books, note-books, and any other unauthorised aids to the

examination (including electronic aids) must be left outside the examination room or

delivered to the invigilator before the examination questions are distributed.

(4) Candidates shall be provided with one or more examination booklets,

which must be filled in accordance with the directions printed on the cover of the

booklet. No part of an examination booklet may be torn off, and no examination booklet

or part thereof may be taken outside the examination room.

(5) When an index number is used, candidates must not write their name on

any part of the examination booklet or make any mark thereon calculated to disclose

their identity to a marker.

(6)

Candidates caught cheating, or attempting to cheat, during an

examination or in any way caught taking, or attempting to take, an unfair

advantage over other candidates shall be subject to disciplinary procedures as

laid down in the statutes, regulations and bye-laws of the University at the time of

the examination. Such candidates may have the results of all their examinations

cancelled and they may also be precluded from sitting for any other examinations

offered by the MATSEC Board.

Coursework

(1) All coursework is to be available at the candidates’ schools for

moderation by the Markers’ Panel.

(2) The school assessments must reach the MATSEC Support Unit by the

date specified by the MATSEC Board.

(3) Private candidates are required to submit their coursework as established

by the Board, with a dated endorsement showing where it was carried out, by the date

specified by the MATSEC Board.

(4) Candidates may be called for an interview relating to their coursework.

(5) Coursework assessment marks may also be retained for subsequent

sessions of the Examination, but the candidates may, at their option, present new

coursework.

Oral/Aural Components of the Examination

A Supplementary Session for orals shall be made available to candidates

who are marked absent for the First Session of the oral/aural examination provided that

they are either covered by a medical certificate presented within three days of the

oral/aural examination or they are absent for a reason deemed valid by the MATSEC

Board. Candidates who are absent for the oral/aural examination in the First Session

without a valid reason shall not be awarded any marks and shall not be entitled to a

supplementary oral examination.

Examination Work

(1) Candidates are expected to bear in mind the necessity for good

expression and orderly presentation in their examination answers.

(2) All work submitted in connection with the Examination, including

written work and coursework, shall remain the property of the MATSEC Board, but

may be returned to the candidates at the discretion of the MATSEC Board.

Structure of Examination Papers

Each Advanced and Intermediate Matriculation examination has its own

particular structure.

Examination Materials

(1) No texts or dictionaries are permitted in the examination room unless

specifically indicated in the syllabus.

(2) The use of non-programmable electronic calculators is permitted in

Mathematics, science subjects, and related subjects, unless indicated otherwise in the

syllabus.

(3) A booklet with mathematical formulae shall be supplied by the MATSEC

Board where appropriate.

Revision of Examination Papers

(1) In terms of regulation 6 of the University Examinations Regulations,

candidates who are not satisfied with the grade awarded to them in any of the subjects

for which they sat, may request a revision of their examination scripts, within the period

specified by the MATSEC Board and against a fee as determined by the University.

(2) The revised result shall be final.

Quality of Language

Candidates are expected to bear in mind the necessity for good expression

and orderly presentation in their examination answers.

Language of Examination

Candidates are required to answer in the language the questions are set,

unless otherwise specified in the examination paper.

Repeal

The Matriculation Certificate Examination Regulations, 1995, published as Legal

Notice 112 of 1995, shall be deemed to cease to be in force as from 31 st December

2004. Mitbug] fl-Istamperija tal-Gvern - Printed at the Government Printing Press