Secondary Education Certificate Examination Regulations, 2023

L.N. 86 of 2023

EDUCATION ACT

(CAP. 327)

Secondary Education Certificate Examination Regulations, 2023

IN EXERCISE of the powers conferred upon him by articles 74 (5) and 75 (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 articles 75 (3) and 79 (b) of the said Act

Citation and Interpretation

(1) These regulations may be cited as the Secondary Education Certificate

Examination Regulations, 2023.

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

“the Examination” means the Secondary Education 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 January

2025 onwards.

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

and Secondary Education Certificate Examinations Regulations, 2013, published as

Legal Notice 132 of 2013, and to any other relevant statutes, regulations and bye-

laws of the University.

Sessions and Time-Tables

There shall be two sessions of the Examination: the Main Session and the

Supplementary Session. There shall also be continuous assessment as specified in the

syllabi and learning and assessment programmes approved by the MATSEC Board.

Subjects of the Examination

(1) In the Main Session the subjects offered shall be the following

Accounting, Agribusiness*, Arabic, Art, Biology, Business Studies, Chemistry,

Chinese, Computing, Dance, Design & Technology, Economics, English Language,

English Literature, Engineering Technology*, Environmental Studies, Ethics,

European Studies, Fashion and Textiles*, French, Geography, German, Greek,

History, Hairdressing and Beauty*, Health and Social Care*, Home Economics,

Hospitality*, Information Technology*, Italian, Latin, Maltese, Maltese as a Foreign

Language, Mathematics, Media Literacy Education*, Music, Physical Education,

Physics, Religious Knowledge, Retail*, Social Studies, Spanish and Theatre.

(2) In the Supplementary Session, subject to the provisions of paragraph

(2) of regulation 5, the subjects offered shall be the following: English Language,

Maltese, Mathematics, and, subject to the provisions of paragraphs (2) and (3) of

regulation 5, Biology, Chemistry and Physics.

Choice of Subjects

(1) No subject may be taken in both the Secondary Education Certificate

Examination, Secondary Education Applied Certificate and the Matriculation

Certificate Examination at Advanced or Intermediate Level in the same session.

(2) With the exception of subjects marked with an asterisk in paragraph

(1) of regulation 4, candidates are eligible to register for the Supplementary Session

in any of the subjects in paragraph (2) of regulation 4 only if, in the Main Session

of that same year, they had obtained Grade 6 or lower, or if they were absent, except

for Biology, Chemistry and Physics which are regulated by paragraph (3) of this

regulation.

(3) In the Supplementary Session, candidates may sit for only one

examination in either Biology, or Chemistry or Physics, provided that they did not

already obtain a Grade 5 or better in any of these three subjects.

Structure of the Examination

(1) With the exception of the subjects marked with an asterisk in paragraph

(1) of regulation 4, and Greek and Latin, candidates may register for the Examination

as school or private candidates. Candidates may only register for Greek and Latin as

private candidates.

(2) With the exception of the subjects marked with an asterisk in paragraph

(1) of regulation 4, the Examination in all other subjects shall consist of two papers

Paper I and Paper II as specified in the respective syllabi.

(3) Paper I for school candidates shall consist of unmoderated school-

based assessment that is to be set and assessed by the school. Paper I for private

candidates shall be a controlled assessment and shall mainly focus on the learning

outcomes marked in the respective syllabi as suggested for school-based assessment.

(4) Paper I for private candidates shall be a controlled assessment

assessing levels 1, 2 and 3 as described in the respective syllabus and set and marked

by MATSEC.

(5) Paper II shall be a controlled assessment set and marked by MATSEC

and is common to school and private candidates. This paper shall focus on the learning

outcomes as prescribed by the syllabus.

(6) All Paper II controlled assessments shall be tiered at two levels: levels

1-2 and levels 2-3. Paper I for school candidates may be tiered at either levels 1-2-3

or levels 1-2 according to the respective MATSEC syllabus.

(7) Candidates shall be required to indicate on their application form

whether they wish to sit for their Paper II assessment at: levels 1-2 or levels 2-3.

(8) In the Supplementary Session, only levels 2-3 shall be offered for

Paper II and as indicated in paragraphs (2) and (3) of regulation 5.

(9) In all subjects marked with an asterisk in paragraph (1) of regulation

4, there shall be continuous assessment by the class teachers with internal verification

by peers and external verification by the MATSEC Board.

(10) Each of these subjects shall consist of three Units: one Unit for each

of Forms 3, 4 and 5 (Years 9, 10 and 11) of the secondary schools; and each Unit shall

be assessed by means of three assessment tasks, one of which shall be a controlled

assessment set and supervised by the MATSEC Board and shall also include a written

component.

(11) The tasks shall be set by the class teachers and shall be verified

internally by peers and verified externally by a purposely appointed External Verifier

who shall report to the MATSEC Board.

(12) There shall be a synoptic assessment for each Unit only for candidates

who fail the Unit or who are absent for the controlled assessment of that Unit.

Candidates who take the synoptic assessment because they failed the Unit may qualify

for a maximum of 60 marks, whilst candidates who take the synopticassessment

because they were absent for the controlled assessment may qualify for the full 100

marks.

Grades and Levels

(1) The attainment in Paper I for school candidates, Paper II and an overall

level shall be reported.

(2) Candidates may qualify for an overall level at level 1, 2, or 3. The level

shall be determined by the cumulative score of candidates in Paper I and Paper II. The

results of candidates who do not achieve at least level 1 shall not have a level awarded

and shall be reported by ‘NA’ which denotes Not Attained.

(3) Paper I shall carry a weighting of 30% of the final overall mark. The

mark achieved by school candidates in Paper I shall be reported out of 30, with the

highest mark being 30 and lowest being 0, denoting that the submitted work by the

candidate was not awarded any marks. The letters ‘np’ will be reported for when

candidates do not submit any work. Private candidates shall have the letters ‘PC’

reported representing ‘private candidate’ instead of the score for Paper I. School

candidates who would have done their school-based assessment, or part of, at levels

1-2 and sit for their Paper II at levels 2-3 will have their school-based assessment

mark weighted at 60% of its value for the computation of an overall level. In such

cases the weighted value shall be reported.

(4) Paper II shall be graded on an eight-point scale, grades 1 to 8. Grade 1

shall be awarded for the highest level of achievement.

(5) Grades in Paper II shall be awarded in accordance with the following

criteria

Grade 1: Indicates an overall excellent grasp of the subject and the level of

attainment that is expected of the ablest candidates.

Grade 2: Indicates a very high level of achievement overall.

Grade 3: Indicates a high level of achievement but falls below this level in certain

sections of the examination.

Grade 4: Indicates a good overall level.

Grade 5: Indicates a good level, but not overall, and is the minimum level acceptable

for further studies in the subject.

Grade 6: Indicates a general grasp of the subject but not a sufficiently deep

understanding of it.

Grade 7: Indicates a basic level of attainment.

Grade 8: Indicates a very low level of attainment.

(6) Candidates sitting for Paper I and Paper II at level 2-3 may qualify for

Grade 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7. The results of candidates who do not obtain at least Grade

7 shall remain unclassified and shall be denoted as U.

(7) Candidates sitting for Paper I and Paper II at level 1-2 may qualify for

Grade 6, 7 or 8. The results of candidates who do not obtain at least Grade 8 shall

remain unclassified and shall be denoted as U.

(8) Candidates taking the subjects marked with an asterisk in pararaph (1)

of regulation 4 may qualify for Grades 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 or 8. The results of candidates

who do not obtain at least Grade 8 shall remain unclassified and shall be denoted as

U.

(9) With the exception of subjects marked with an asterisk in pararaph

(1) of regulation 4, candidates are to satisfy the examiners in Paper I and Paper II to

obtain a level higher than 1.

(10) For subjects marked with an asterisk in pararaph (1) of regulation

4, candidates are to satisfy the examiners in the school-based assessment and the

controlled assessment according to the current MATSEC policy document referring

to these subjects to obtain a level higher than 1.

Registration

(1) Only candidates who have completed their studies in Year 11 (Form V)

of secondary education or who attain the age of sixteen by 31 December of the year

of certification shall be allowed to register for the Examination.

(2) With the exception of the subjects marked with an asterisk in paragraph

(1) of regulation 4, registration for the Main Session of the Examination, on the

appropriate application form and accompanied by the relevant fee (if applicable), 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 the relevant fee for late registrations fee is paid.

(3) The Executive Director may, at his/her discretion, accept applications

for registration for the Main Session at a later date against the payment of an additional

fee.

(4) Registration for the Supplementary Session shall be made during

the dates published by MATSEC. Candidates shall be allowed to register for the

Supplementary Session only if they registered for the Main Session of the examination

in the corresponding year and subject to the provisions of paragraphs (2) and (3) of

regulation 5.

(5) Registration for the subjects marked with an asterisk in paragraph

(1) of regulation 4 shall be made by the closing date as published in the notice for

registration when the candidates are commencing studies at the beginning of Year 9

(Form III). Registration must be made on the appropriate form and accompanied by

the relevant fee. There shall be no private candidates for these subjects.

(6) Registration for the synoptic assessments shall be made during the

dates published by MATSEC. Candidates shall be allowed to register for the synoptic

assessment only as specified in paragraph (12) of regulation 6.

(7) The Executive Director may, at his/her discretion, accept late applications

for the Supplementary Session and the synoptic assessment after the closing date if

an additional fee is paid.

(8) The Executive Director may, at his/her discretion, accept alterations to

the application form by the candidate, subject to the same conditions and additional

fees applicable for late registration.

Enquiries upon Results

The marking of papers, the assessment of assignments and coursework, and

the results shall be final and binding for all candidates, and the MATSEC Board shall

not, except in its absolute discretion, enter into correspondence about results with

candidates or anyone on their behalf or any other person.

Revision of Grade

(1) In terms of regulation 10 of The Conduct of the Matriculation and

Secondary Education Certificate Examinations Regulations, 2013, candidates who

are not satisfied with the grade awarded to them in any of the subjects for which they

sat, may request a review of their examination scripts by a reviewer appointed by the

MATSEC Board, within the period specified by the MATSEC Board and against a fee

as determined by the University.

(2) In the subjects marked with an asterisk in paragraph (1) of regulation

4, candidates who are not satisfied with the result awarded to them in any of the units

may request a review of their assessment by an additional external verifier within

the period specified by the MATSEC Board and against a fee as determined by the

University.

(3) The revised result shall be final.

Certificates

(1) A certificate showing the level obtained in each subject, together with

the criteria for the award of the level as laid down in paragraph (2) of regulation 7,

shall be issued once only to candidates who obtain levels 1, 2 and 3. The certificate

will also show the attainment mark of Paper I and the grade obtained in the Paper II

in the respective subject/s.

(2) For subjects being taken privately, the Certificate will show the letters

‘PC’ instead of the Paper I mark.

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

against a fee as determined by the University.

Conduct during the Examination

The conduct of the examination will be regulated by the MATSEC

Examinations Candidate Guidebook, in force at the time, as approved by the MATSEC

Examinations Board and Senate, as well as The Conduct of the Matriculation and

Secondary Education Certificate Examinations Regulations, 2013, published as

Legal Notice 132 of 2013 and any statutory or regulatory provisions consolidating,

amending, substituting, replacing, supplementing or interpreting Legal Notice 132 of

2013. School-Based assessment

(1) School-based assessment is any type of assessment of a candidate made

by the school relevant to the respective Secondary Education Certificate syllabus that

contributes to the final level awarded in the subject.

(2) The attainment of school-based assessment shall only be accepted from

schools approved by the MATSEC Board.

(3) The school-based assessment shall be marked out of 100 each year (9,

10 and 11). The assessment for each year will contribute to 10% of the overall mark

and will be reported to MATSEC by the school in Year 11. Therefore, each year will

equally contribute to the final mark of the school-based assessment.

(4) The school-based assessment shall reflect the MATSEC syllabus

covered in Year 9, Year 10 and Year 11.

(5) School-based assessment shall be set at either Level 1-2 only or Level

1-2-3. The highest level shall have a larger allocation of marks.

(6) The school-based assessment results awarded by the candidates’

schools and the respective level at which this was set must reach MATSEC by the

date specified by the MATSEC Board.

(7) School-based assessment results shall be retained for the Supplementary

Session.

(8) School-based assessment results may be retained for not more than five

subsequent years from the Examination it was submitted for, unless the respective

syllabus states that the set school-based is no longer valid. Candidates are to make a

formal request to MATSEC should they wish to retain their school-based assessment

mark for subsequent sessions.

(9) Private candidates are not expected to present school-based assessment.

Private candidates shall sit for another controlled paper to make up for the school-

based assessment component .

Oral/Aural Components of the Examinations

(1) Marks obtained in the oral and aural components of an examination

during the Main Session shall be retained for the Supplementary Session.

(2) Candidates who re-sit an examination in subsequent years shall be

required to re-take the oral and aural components of that examination.

(3) A Supplementary Session for the oral/aural components shall be made

available to candidates who are marked absent for a justified reason in the Main

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 Main Session without a valid reason

shall not be awarded any marks and shall not be entitled to a supplementary oral/aural

examination.

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 other subjects as specified in the related syllabi.

(3) Scientific and mathematical formulae shall be provided by the MATSEC

Board where appropriate.

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

written work, shall remain the property of the MATSEC Board, but may be returned

to the candidates at the MATSEC Board’s discretion.

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 mark is

prorated to compensate for the missing component, their certificate shall be endorsed

as follows

‘Special arrangements were made to enable the candidates to be assessed in this

subject. Details may be obtained from the Executive Director.’

(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 candidates’ school and supported by appropriate medical

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

Quality of Language

Candidates are expected to bear in mind the necessity for clarity of

expression and orderly presentation in their examination answers.

Language of Examination

The language/s in which the questions are set shall be indicated in the

syllabus of each subject. Candidates are required to answer in the language the

questions are set, unless otherwise specified in the examination paper.

Repeal

The Secondary Education Certificate Examination Regulations, 2014,

published as Legal Notice 389 of 2014, shall be deemed to cease to be in force as

from 31st December 2024.

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