Proposal To Scrap Spm Fails To Excite Education Groups

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Sarawak DAP chairman Chong Chieng Jen had proposed cancelling the 2020 SPM exam and awarding certificates based on coursework results, trial examinations and teacher input. (Bernama pic)PETALING JAYA: Several education groups have rejected a proposal to scrap the 2020 SPM examination.
They say it risks putting some students at a disadvantage and jeopardising their future.
Sarawak DAP chairman Chong Chieng Jen recently proposed the cancellation in a letter to the education ministry. He suggested instead that certificates be issued based on coursework results, trial examinations and teacher input.
Melaka Action Group for Parents in Education chairman Mak Chee Kin told FMT that relying on coursework results and the outcome of trial examinations might cause some students to get lower grades than they would in an examination setting.
Mak Chee Kin.“A student might improve after a trial,” he said. “Everyone progresses differently. So it’s not fair to take trial exams into consideration.
“Also, some students may take it easy in Form 4, with no idea that their work would suddenly count towards their SPM score. They might have performed differently if they had known.”
Mak said that with the knowledge gained from managing the Covid-19 pandemic last year, things should be able to proceed without issue.
“Exams won’t worsen the spread of Covid-19 since the seating is spread out and everyone obeys the SOP for schools. The exam date is set and should be carried on. The students and teachers are ready.”
It was announced last November that the 2020 SPM examination had been postponed to next month.
Harry Tan Huat Hock.National Union of the Teaching Profession secretary-general Harry Tan Huat Hock called the SPM “the most public and summative exam in our students’ lives” and said any decision to change the certification should be made carefully since “it is the preamble to a student’s career path”.
The SPM examination is pegged against other global exams and used for entry to higher learning institutions locally and abroad. Noting this, Tan told FMT he believed it was essential to preserve its integrity.
“We must maintain the standards of the SPM at all costs so that our education system is truly world class and is never brought into disrepute.”
Malaysian Muslim Teachers Association president Mohd Azizee Hasan said using trial examination results as an assessment measure would not work.
Mohd Azizee Hasan.“There are schools that do not implement them and their validity can be disputed,” he said.
He suggested that students in high-risk areas be allowed to turn up early at special examination centres where the health and education ministries’ SOPs could be enforced.
In extreme circumstances, students could sit for the examination while in hospital, he added.
Education consultant Tan Ai Mei said examinations were a necessary part of the education process and students should take them despite the pandemic, with digital options for remote testing if need be.
Tan Ai Mei.She noted that there had been plenty of time for students to prepare for the examination as many teachers had completed the syllabus long ago.
The pandemic should not be a reason for education standards to falter, she said.
“It comes down to the students having the right attitude. If they are not willing to sit, if they perform poorly, it is not the pandemic’s problem.
“They should all be able to take responsibility for their studies. This is Form 5, not Standard 5,” she said. - FMT

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