KUALA LUMPUR – The Pakatan Harapan education committee has urged the Education Ministry (MoE) and Malaysian Examinations Council (MEC) to announce a contingency arrangement for Sijil Peperiksaan Malaysia (SPM) candidates who are unable to sit for their examinations in March in the event that they are affected by Covid-19.
After obtaining information that there is a surge in Covid-19 infections among SPM candidates, the committee said the students’ preparation for the practical science test as well as the ongoing speaking and listening test have been affected.
“What is more worrying is should SPM candidates get infected with Covid-19 or identified as close contacts to Covid-19 patients, they will have to undergo quarantine. Due to that, they will be unable to sit for the ongoing tests.
“Most importantly, the committee is urging for an announcement on contingency arrangements if a candidate is unable to sit for their exams if they are infected by Covid-19 or identified as a Covid-19 close contact,” the committee said in a statement today.
The statement was signed by Dr Maszlee Malik who is the committee chairman and former education minister, former deputy education minister Teo Nie Ching, Setiawangsa MP Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, Tampin MP Datuk Sr Hasan Bahrom, Sekijang MP Natrah Ismail, Bukit Mertajam MP Steven Sim Chee Keong, Tangga Batu MP Rusnah Aluai and Batu Gajah MP V. Sivakumar.
Information obtained by the committee also found that MEC has yet to set an exam sitting replacement method for candidates who may miss their exams on the original dates should they be quarantined.
Therefore, the committee has called on MoE and MEC to provide an immediate explanation – on whether candidates can resit their exams or will no repeat sessions be provided.
Last Saturday, Education Minister Datuk Mohd Radzi Md Jidin said the SPM examination will continue as scheduled, with standard operating procedures in place to curb the spread of Covid-19 among students and teachers.
He said although there is a significant increase in new Covid-19 cases, the percentage of patients involving Categories 4 and 5 is small.
“MoE is committed to ensuring that schools operate in a smooth, orderly and safe manner, by ensuring that all the SOPs set continue to be complied with.
“This commitment is made taking into account the smooth implementation of SPM 2020 in February last year, and we already have complete SOPs in place for it,” he was quoted as saying by Bernama.
He said the situation now is also different, with more than 90% of the Form 5 students this year fully vaccinated.
For the record, SPM will begin on March 2 and end on March 29.
Commenting on Covid-19 infections in schools, Radzi said there are cases involving teachers and students in school premises, but the percentage is very small. – The Vibes, February 14, 2022
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