KUALA LUMPUR – A parliamentary special select committee today slammed the Education Ministry for refusing to send representatives to an inquiry regarding issues related to the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) oral examination.
Simpang Renggam MP Maszlee Malik, who heads the special select committee on education, said the ministry did not send any representatives despite having been sent a letter via the Dewan Rakyat secretary to attend the proceedings and provide an explanation for the situation.
He said the committee had received numerous complaints from parents, SPM candidates and teachers about questions that were repeated for separate sessions.
“Unfortunately, after the invitation had been issued by the Dewan Rakyat, the ministry had, through a representative, refused to attend,” Maszlee said in a statement.
Maszlee said the snub by the ministry, led by senior minister Datuk Mohd Radzi Md Jidin, has “lowered the status of Parliament” and disregarded the demands of people calling for an explanation.
“The refusal of the minister or his officer to attend the meeting has given rise to perceptions that they are afraid of facing parliamentary authorities and are not professional in carrying out their duties,” he said.
Earlier, it was reported that questions were recycled for different oral examination sessions and that some students had trouble hearing the questions due to poor-quality audio facilities.
Concerned parents said that the Education Ministry should have arranged for different sets of exam papers, each with their own questions, in view of candidates being away from school due to floods, Covid-19 and other natural disasters this year. – The Vibes, April 20, 2022
