More than 42,000 final-year secondary school students across Slovakia are sitting their written final exams, known as the maturita, this week. The tests are taking place at more than 600 secondary schools nationwide from March 10th to 13th. The exam week began on Tuesday with the written test and essay in Slovak language and literature, taken by more than 38,000 students. The same exam is also being completed by more than 1,600 students studying in Hungarian. On Wednesday, students continue with foreign language tests, with the largest number sitting the English exam. Across all three difficulty levels, nearly 37,000 students are expected to take the English test. Thursday is reserved for the optional mathematics exam. The written exam period concludes on Friday with Slovak and Ukrainian language tests for minority schools.
One of the new features this year is the option to take the test electronically. According to Education Ministry spokesperson Zuzana Kohútiková, the digital format offers several advantages. Students can easily adjust their answers without crossing things out or rewriting them. They also have a paper answer sheet as a backup, more time for administrative tasks, and receive immediate preliminary feedback after submitting the test.
As stress and nervousness are common during the exam period, Education Minister Tomáš Drucker (HLAS-SD) wished students calm and confidence during the exams, reminding them that the maturita is not only a test of knowledge, but also a moment when young people demonstrate their maturity. Psychologist Zuzana Juráneková from the free counselling service IPčko advises students to start the day calmly, eat something before the exam and drink plenty of water, while avoiding too much coffee or energy drinks. She also reminds them that even if something does not go according to plan, it is not the end of the world.
Source: STVR, TASR
