PUTRAJAYA, Dec 19 — The decision by the Education Ministry not to postpone the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) Malay oral test when floods hit three states recently paid off when the overall attendance rate was 97.49 per cent.
Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek said it was a difficult decision to make, but after getting reports from the relevant quarters on the situation then and taking into account all safety factors, it was decided that the oral test should proceed.
She said despite some quarters not being happy with the decision, the percentage of attendance of SPM candidates for the Malay oral test in the three most affected states was 97.54 per cent in Kelantan, 98.01 per cent in Terengganu and 97.94 per cent in Kedah.
“Our children are stronger than what we think they are. I was not alone in making that decision (not to defer the oral test), serial series of discussions were held. The Kelantan State Education Committee chairman was with me and also the State Education Department director (Datuk Mohd Zamri Abdul Aziz) when I was in Kelantan,” she said at the ministry’s monthly assembly today.
The ministry’s decision not to postpone the oral test despite the floods in the three states then sparked heated discussions and became a point of contention among some parties dissatisfied with the decision.
She insisted that the decision to continue the oral test was not because the ministry lacked empathy for the SPM candidates.
“During my recent post-flood visit to Terengganu, I received positive feedback from the affected SPM candidates. I asked whether they were angry with me for continuing the exam. They said ‘no’ and shared with me their experience going for the test on a boat.
“(One of them said) ‘I went on a boat for four hours, it was fun YB’,” she said.
In another development, Fadhlina expressed sympathy for the family of the student who died, believed to have been electrocuted during the Al-Quran and Fardhu Ain (KAFA) class at a religious school in Serdang.
She also expressed the need for the security aspect at the school to be improved.
“Although it happened outside the ministry’s facility, we should learn from the incident to ensure all school premises under the ministry are safe. Security inspection should be carried out from time to time to prevent such incidents from happening,” she said.
A 12-year-old boy died of suspected electrocution at a school in Serdang yesterday and the case has been classified as sudden death with further investigations underway.
Fadhlina also expressed sadness over the death of a female student of a Teacher Education Institute (IPG) in Besut, Terengganu, who died in an accident involving four vehicles that collided with a trailer on Jalan Gua Musang-Kuala Lipis yesterday.
“The IPG rector has confirmed that they will visit and hand over donations and provide psychosocial assistance to the family,” she said.
Ten other students were injured in the accident. — Bernama
