It takes time to build trust in the high school graduation, but there are no reasons why it should not be introduced in full in 2024, according to the Ministry of Education.
The original article requires translation.
The state matura will replace the entrance exam at most higher education institutions, claim those most responsible for the introduction of this knowledge test at the national level. The University of Belgrade unanimously "supports the introduction of the state matriculation exam into the education system from the 2023/24 school year." year" especially because of its certification role, as an exam at the end of high school, but for at least three or four years "it must maintain the current system of entrance, i.e. qualification, exams as an important element for ranking candidates when enrolling in faculties." Did the authorities expect this attitude of the oldest and largest university in Serbia, do they agree with it and does this mean that the state matriculation exam will not be introduced in full until 2028? Does it make sense to introduce it without respecting all three of its most important roles (certification, selection and evaluation)?
- Preparations for the introduction of the state matriculation exam are proceeding according to plan. For now, there are no reasons why matura should not be introduced in full in 2023/24. year, as planned. There is no possibility of a "halfway" introduction of matriculation. Matura introduced in 2023/24. will have three functions: certification (which is prescribed by law as an exam that ends secondary education), evaluation (which, as an external evaluation of student achievements, is key to improving the quality of secondary education), and a qualification or selection role for enrollment in higher education. During the past two years, as long as the process of harmonizing the integration of the state matriculation exam into the enrollment policy of higher education institutions, no study program, faculty or university has expressed the opinion that the state matriculation exam will not be evaluated during enrollment - experts from the Ministry of Education claim for Politika.
They explained that the success at the state graduation is also the success achieved in high school education, which is added to the general, average success of graduates from four years of schooling. Then they pointed out that for a large number of study programs of different universities in Serbia, the state matura has the potential to completely replace the previous entrance exams. Already in the next sentence, in the written answers to our newspaper, "a large number" melted into "individual" study programs.
- The qualifying function of the matriculation examination for certain study programs can be accepted in "full extent". For some study programs, at art faculties, for example, exams will certainly be organized, as before, to check special aptitudes and abilities. For certain study programs, tests to check specific knowledge will be added to the "partial scope", authorities explain.
The UB's position is clear that the state matriculation exam cannot be sufficient for admission to the faculties immediately after its introduction into the system, but they "must" organize entrance exams in a "transitional period" that would last three to four years. During that "transitional" time, the candidate's success at the state matriculation examination would be compared with the success in the qualifying exam, the general success in high school and the success in the enrolled study program. The validity of tests, types of tasks, method of passing, software for data processing would also be under scrutiny... Based on a comprehensive analysis, faculties would receive more reliable parameters about the quality of acquired knowledge and the effects of introducing only the state matriculation exam.
- Faculties did not declare that they will not evaluate the state matriculation exam for the enrollment of freshmen, but presented a proposal to introduce a "transitional" period in which, in addition to evaluating the results of the state matriculation exam, some study programs would also evaluate achievements in additional exams to check knowledge, abilities and skills. This does not constitute a violation of the Law on Higher Education. The method of evaluation of the high school graduation by the faculty is not determined by any time limit, and the possibility that highly competitive study programs evaluate the results of the students achieved at the state high school graduation, their general success in high school, the success achieved in the additional exams for admission to the faculty and correlate with the success achieved by the students in studies can only strengthen care and support for improving the quality of the state matriculation exam, and especially the quality of secondary education in the Republic of Serbia.
That required time is already measured in decades. Experts who closely follow the process, from the idea to the final introduction and evaluation of the state baccalaureate, know that as early as 2001, when the Minister of Education was Gašo Knežević, there was an intention that the first generation who, based on the passing of the junior baccalaureate, would be the first who will take the high school graduation exam to finish high school.
Enrollment proposals according to the new rules established for 40 percent of study programs
By the end of August of this year, all higher education institutions should determine which state matriculation exams are evaluated when enrolling in studies and determine the criteria for ranking and selecting candidates. Is this provision superfluous if the results of the state matriculation examination will not be sufficient for the enrollment of students even in June 2024?
- By mid-April, about 40 percent of study programs submitted preliminary proposals on enrollment criteria. The process of consultation and agreement with the academic community and universities is ongoing and will produce solutions for all open issues - say the relevant ministry.
The position of the University of Belgrade is that all the faculties that make it up, in accordance with their specificities, will determine which subjects from the general, professional and artistic matriculation are evaluated when enrolling in studies, and that each faculty, individually, can send their opinions and suggestions directly competent ministry.