Own Initiative Report by the Commissioner for Education on MATSEC Access Arrangements for Special Needs Candidates with Reference to candidates suffering from ADHD, Autism or Dyslexia Conditions

Own Initiative Report by the Commissioner for Education on MATSEC Access Arrangements for Special Needs Candidates with Reference to candidates suffering from ADHD, Autism or Dyslexia Conditions.

The Commissioner for Education at the Office of the Ombudsman undertook this study to establish whether students with special education needs sitting for the SEC and Matriculation examinations receive all the access support they require to overcome fully the obstacles imposed by their conditions.

The Commissioner was spurred to undertake this analysis by parents of special education needs candidates who on one hand appreciate the value of the current special arrangements offered during examinations, and on the other hand feel that these do not go far enough and should be improved.

This study is not an investigation into the workings of the University’s ACCESS Committee or the MATSEC Board since the Commissioner is aware and appreciates the valuable work that the two entities carry out to those who deserve support. Instead, it has three objectives.

First, it presents the perspectives of the parents of candidates with special education needs of the obstacles their children face when they sit for the SEC and Matriculation examinations. Second, it provides parents in general with a document to help them understand the complex issues involved when their children sit for these national examinations and how the University authorities seek to deal with them.  Third, the study can serve as an additional tool for the University authorities to understand more comprehensively the concerns of these candidates and their parents. Such a tool can be particularly useful at a time when the Institution itself is reviewing its ACCESS and examination policies.

The data collected for this study demonstrate in no uncertain terms that candidates with special education needs perform less well in SEC exams than other students. The data is consistent over the three years 2014-2016 and in the three selected subjects, namely Maltese, English and Mathematics.  Table A shows that the success rate of candidates with the identified conditions is less than half that of other candidates.

Table A: Cumulative data emerging from other three tables 

These figures do not prove conclusively that special need candidates perform less well than other candidates because of:

1. either their innate conditions,
2. or insufficient access support by the University.

It is reasonable to conclude that the results emerge from a combination of both factors.  However, parents of Dyslexia-ADHD candidates, for example, point to such data to claim that the University authorities do not help their children in any way when the latter’s spelling mistakes in language subjects are penalised to the same extent of other candidates when it is well known that Dyslexic students have an innate difficulty to spell correctly. As a result their performance in Maltese and English is 40% lower than other candidates’. In the process, parents argue, the University deprives these candidates the opportunity to pursue tertiary education when they possess the intellectual capacity to do so with profit.

The Commissioner appreciates the good work the University is performing in this regard. He also endorses parents’ requests for better access arrangements that enable their children to sit for the national examinations on a truly level ground with other candidates. Parents repeatedly stressed to the Commissioner that they do not want their children to obtain de-valued University certificates. Neither do they want their children to take unfair advantages over other candidates They want the University authorities to treat their children as “Different But Equal” to other candidates.  One augurs that this study will contribute towards this end.

The Commissioner conducted this study under the Own-Initiative Investigation proviso of the Ombudsman Act of 1995 and in cognisance of the Education-Equal Opportunities (Persons with Disability) Act of 2000 CAP.413, the University’s Assessment Regulations of 2009, as well as its Guidelines to MATSEC Examinations ACCESS Arrangements, 2015.

Click here to download the report.

El Síndic de Greuges se ha dirigido al Departamento de Territorio y Sostenibilidad de la Generalitat, a Renfe y a Adif para solicitar información sobre las causas que han provocado el accidente ferroviario en la estación de Francia de Barcelona este viernes 28 de julio. Un accidente que, según las informaciones emitidas por los medios de comunicación, ha dejado unas cincuenta personas heridas, una de ellas en estado grave.

En concreto, el Síndic quiere aclarar el motivo por el que el convoy no ha frenado a tiempo y saber en qué estado se encuentran las infraestructuras afectadas. También ha preguntado por las actuaciones llevadas a cabo, o previstas, para garantizar los derechos de los pasajeros a la asistencia, la seguridad y la calidad del servicio. En este sentido, se ha dirigido a la Dirección General de Protección Civil del Departamento de Interior.

Con independencia de cuál haya sido la causa del accidente, el Síndic ha recuperado el informe Los derechos de las personas en los servicios ferroviarios de Cataluña, que presentó en el Parlamento de Cataluña en octubre de 2016. El documento constata la precariedad del servicio de Cercanías y pide más inversión por parte del Estado. Además, incluye la propuesta de 75 medidas aplicables para normalizar un servicio con muchas carencias.

Según las noticias publicadas, el accidente se produjo cuando un tren de la línea R2 Sur de Cercanías Renfe procedente de Sant Vicenç de Calders no ha frenado al llegar a la estación de destino y ha colisionado con el tope en el tramo final de la vía.

El Defensor del Pueblo (e.f.), Francisco Fernández Marugán, ha visitado el Servicio de Psiquiatría del Niño y del Adolescente del Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón.

Francisco Fernández Marugán se ha reunido con el jefe del Servicio de Psiquiatría del Niño y del Adolescente, Celso Arango y con la jefa de sección de este servicio, Dolores Moreno que le han explicado los programas que desarrollan y le han enseñado el funcionamiento de la unidad de hospitalización de adolescentes.

En la visita también han participado la jefa del área de Sanidad y Política Social del Defensor del Pueblo, Marta Kindelán y el jefe de la Unidad del Mecanismo Nacional de Prevención de la Tortura (MNP), Bartolomé José Martínez.

Este Servicio cuenta con una unidad de hospitalización de adolescentes, consultas externas de psiquiatría del niño y del adolescente e interconsulta hospitalaria. Además, desarrolla una importante actividad docente e investigadora.

Marc possède de faibles revenus. Il demande l’intervention majorée de sa mutuelle, qui lui permettrait d’obtenir un remboursement plus élevé de ses soins de santé.

Dossier incomplet, vraiment ?

La mutuelle demande des documents complémentaires que Marc lui remet au guichet. Deux mois plus tard, il reçoit une réponse : sa demande est refusée car son dossier serait incomplet. Marc tente, à plusieurs reprises, de contacter sa mutuelle, lui envoie à nouveau les documents par e-mail mais il ne reçoit que des réponses types. Le site internet de la mutuelle rencontre ensuite des problèmes techniques...

Intervention majorée accordée

Le Médiateur fédéral contacte la mutuelle : la demande de Marc était bien complète. Ses documents n’étaient pas parvenus, étant donné les problèmes techniques que rencontrait la mutuelle. Ces problèmes sont entre-temps résolus. La mutuelle accorde finalement l’intervention majorée à Marc, qui paie désormais ses soins médicaux moins cher.

Avez-vous aussi une plainte ?

Si, comme Marc, vous rencontrez un problème avec l’assurance obligatoire (remboursement de soins médicaux, indemnités d’invalidité ou d’incapacité de travail) :
> contactez d’abord le service de plaintes ou l’ombudsman de votre mutuelle
> tournez-vous ensuite vers le Médiateur fédéral, en introduisant une plainte via le formulaire. 

Si vous rencontrez un problème dans un autre domaine, le site www.ombudsman.be vous guide facilement vers l'ombudsman qui pourra vous aider.