SECONDARY EDUCATION CERTIFICATE EXAMINATION REGULATIONS

SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION 327.55

SECONDARY EDUCATION CERTIFICATE

EXAMINATION REGULATIONS

20th October, 2014

LEGAL NOTICE 389 of 2014, as amended by Legal Notice 166 of 2015

and 450 of 2021.

(1) The title of these regulations is the Secondary

Education Certificate Examination Regulations.

(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.

(1) These regulations shall apply to examinations held

from January 2015 onwards.

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

Matriculation and Secondary Education Certificate Examinations

Regulations, and to any other relevant statutes, regulations and

bye-laws of the University.

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.

(1)

In the Main Session the subjects offered shall be the

following

For examinations held from January 2022 onwards

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

C h e m i s t r y, C l a s s i c a l C u l t u r e a n d C i v i l i s a t i o n , C o m m e r c e ,

Computing, 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, Mathematics,

Media Literacy*, Music, Physical Education, Physics, Religious

Knowledge, Retail*, Russian, Social Studies and Spanish; and

For examinations held from January 2023 onwards

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

C h e m i s t r y, C l a s s i c a l C u l t u r e a n d C i v i l i s a t i o n , C o m m e r c e ,

Computing, Design & Technology, Economics, English Language,

English Literature, Engineering Technology*, Environmental

St u d i e s , E t h i c s , E u r o p e a n St u d i e s , F a s h i o n a n d Te x t i l e s * ,

French**, Geography, German**, Greek, History, Hairdressing and

Beauty*, Health and Social Care*, Home Economics, Hospitality*,

Information Technology*, Italian**, Latin, Maltese, Mathematics,

Media Literacy*, Music, Physical Education, Physics, Religious

Knowledge, Retail*, Russian, Social Studies and Spanish**

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

regulation 5(3) and (4), the subjects offered shall be the following

English Language, Maltese, Mathematics, and, subject to the

provisions of regulation 5(3) and (4), Biology, Chemistry and

Physics.

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

Education Certificate Examination and the Matriculation

Certificate Examination at Advanced or Intermediate Level in the

same session.

(2) Candidates may not sit for the examination in Business

Studies with any of Commerce, and Economics in the same session.

(3) Candidates are eligible to register for the Supplementary

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

Session, they had obtained Grade 6 or lower, or if they were absent,

except for Biology, Chemistry and Physics which are regulated by

sub-regulation (4).

(4) 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.

(1) With the exception of the subjects marked with an

asterisk in regulation 4(1) the Examination in all other subjects

shall consist of two papers, each of two hours’ duration: Paper I

and Paper II as specified in the respective syllabi.

(2) With the exception of the subjects marked with two asterisks

in regulation 4 (1) the papers shall be structured as follows

(a) Paper I shall be the core paper to be taken by all

candidates registered for the examination in the

subject, and may include an oral/aural/coursework/

practical component; and

(b) Paper IIA comprises more demanding questions than those

in Paper IIB.

(3) Candidates shall be required to indicate on their application

form which of Paper IIA or Paper IIB they wish to sit for.

(4) In the Supplementary Session, only Paper I and Paper IIB

shall be offered.

(5) In all subjects marked with an asterisk in regulation 4(1)

there shall be continuous assessment by the class teachers with

internal verification by peers and external verification by the

MATSEC Board.

(6) 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.

(7) 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.

(8) There shall be a synoptic test 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 test

because they failed the Unit may qualify for a maximum of 60

marks, whilst candidates who take the synoptic test because they

were absent for the controlled assessment may qualify for the full

100 marks.

(1) Grades shall be awarded on a seven-point scale,

according to the criteria laid down in sub-regulation (2). Grade 1

shall be awarded for the highest level of achievement, whereas

Grade 7 indicates the minimum satisfactory performance.

(2) Grades 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 low level of attainment. Grade 8: Indicates a

basic level of attainment.

(3) Candidates sitting for Paper I and Paper IIA may qualify for

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

least Grade 5 shall remain unclassified and shall be denoted as U.

(4) Candidates sitting for Paper I and Paper IIB may qualify for

Grade 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.

(5) Candidates taking the subjects marked with an asterisk in

regulation 4 (1) 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.

(6) Candidates taking the subjects marked with two asterisks in

regulation 4 (1) may qualify for Grades 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.

(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 regulation 4(1), registration for the Main 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.

(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 a further additional fee.

(4) Registration for the Supplementary Session shall be made

during the week following the publication of the Main Session

results. Candidates shall be allowed to register for the

Supplementary Session only if they had also registered for the

Main Session of the examination and subject to the provisions of

regulation 5(3) and (4).

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

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

the notice for registration when the candidates are commencing

studies at the beginning of Form 3 (Year 9). Registration must be

made on the appropriate form and accompanied by the relevant fee.

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

week following the release of the results of the Units. Candidates

shall be allowed to register for the synoptic test only as specified in

regulation 6(8).

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

applications for the Supplementary Session and the synoptic test after

the closing date if an additional fee is paid.

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

the candidates subject to the same conditions and additional fees

applicable for late registration.

The marking of papers, the assessment of assignments and

coursework, 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.

(1) In terms of regulation 9 of the Conduct of the

Matriculation and Secondary Education Certificate 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 review of their examination scripts, 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 regulation 4(1),

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.

(1) A certificate showing the grade obtained in each

subject, together with the criteria for the award of the grade as laid

down in regulation 7(2), shall be issued once only to candidates

who obtain a grade from 1 to 7.

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

the MATSEC Support Unit against a fee as determined by the

University.

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.

(1) School-based assessment of coursework shall only be

accepted from schools approved by the MATSEC Board.

(2) When a syllabus for a particular subject requires the

submission of coursework, such coursework must be available at

the candidates’ school for moderation by the Markers’ Panel.

(3) The coursework assessment results awarded by the

candidates’ schools must reach the MATSEC Support Unit by the

date specified by the MATSEC Board.

(4) Coursework assessment results shall be retained for the

Supplementary Session.

(5) Coursework assessment results may also be retained for

subsequent sessions of the Examination unless the respective

syllabus states that the set coursework is no longer valid, but the

candidates may, at their option, present new coursework. The

assessment results of the new coursework replace the results of the

previous coursework.

(6) Private candidates are required to submit their coursework

by the specified date and as established by the MATSEC Board,

with a dated endorsement showing where it was carried out.

(7) Candidates who have never studied a subject which

involves a practical at school but have covered the coursework

privately shall be expected to present their coursework to the

MATSEC Board by the date indicated by the MATSEC Board. Such

candidates shall be asked to attend for an oral examination about

their practical work.

(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

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.

(1) No texts or dictionaries are permitted in the

examination room unless specifically indicated in the syllabus.

(2) With the exception of the part of Paper I in Mathematics for

which a calculator cannot be used, and unless otherwise indicated

in the syllabus and in the examination paper, the use of non-

programmable electronic calculators is permitted in Mathematics,

science subjects and related subjects.

(3) Scientific and mathematical formulae shall be provided by

the MATSEC Board where appropriate.

(4) 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

MATSEC Board’s discretion.

(1). (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 candidate 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 candidate’s school

and supported by appropriate medical or other professional

evidence issued within the two years previous to the examination.

Candidates are expected to bear in mind the necessity for

good expression and orderly presentation in their examination

answers.

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.