Holy saints! Teens can’t name historical Maltese personality

Name a deceased Maltese personality... Alphonse Maria Galea, Ugo Mifsud, Dun Karm Psaila, Gorg Borg Olivier, Gan Frangisk Abela, Mikiel Anton Vassalli... there are loads.

Yet students sitting for last May's Maltese secondary examination certificate exam were at pains to name a historical Maltese personality who had passed away, many instead referring to non-Maltese saints.

Candidates sitting for the exam were asked to write a 100-word report on an activity commemorating a famous Maltese personality.

According to the examiners' report, the major problem is this exercise was the choice of the Maltese personality involved.

"There was a large number of candidates who wrote about St Paul, as if he were a famous Maltese personality."

Wrong: Paul was born a Hebrew in Tarsus, Cilicia - or present-day Turkey.

What takes the biscuit is that examiners found a number of candidates had even resorted to invent fictitious characters and were penalised for not answering the question well.

Others wrote about foreign personalities or about saints, most of which were neither Maltese nor memorable.

According to the examiners' report the level achieved in these essays suggested a "serious lack of reading in Maltese" and that many students were superficial in their ideas. Some candidates even invented or twisted historical facts.

Only 2.4% of candidates sitting for the exam where awarded a Grade 1 mark but an overwhelming 60% passed from the exam.

The choice of compositions for the Maltese O-Level was also revealing. Candidates were given a choice between five themes. The most popular were "an embarrassing moment" (Dak il-hin ridt l-art tiblghani) and "communication today". Less popular were "valleys", "the importance of physical exercise in daily life", and "He who sleeps catches no fish".

Some of the examples mentioned by students writing on the theme of embarrassment throw a light on the daily lives of teenagers.

One of the most popular narratives was being filmed by friends while being drunk at a party and then later seeing the video downloaded on Facebook: a double-whammy of social media and privacy issues revealing the concerns of teenagers today.

Typically, the most popular narratives were either related to an embarrassing public performance, and losing face in front of friends... especially those from the opposite sex. 

One popular theme was being slapped in the face after trying to kiss a girl after taking her to a social event to impress friends.

A number of candidates were penalised for using "improper language" in writing this essay.

Although very few answered the question on valleys, this theme solicited some of the most interesting responses with a number of candidates referring to the threats faced by Maltese valleys including vandalism, illegal dumping, fireworks factories, hunters and construction. Most candidates argued that valleys were best kept in their natural state.

A number of candidates referred to cyber-bullying as a disadvantage of modern means of communications. Another disadvantage mentioned was getting used to abbreviating words when communicating on the mobile and using the same language in essays.