By Adrian Lim
KUCHING, Jan 4: Democractic Action Party (DAP) Sarawak chairman Chong Chieng Jen has urged the Education Ministry to scrap the 2020 Form Five Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) Examination due to the Covid-19 situation.
Chong, in a press statement today, said the recent Covid-19 situation was worse than the time when the Education Ministry announced the postponement of the SPM examination.
Hence, Chong who is also Stampin MP opined that the daily Covid-19 cases which ran up to four-digit figure is unsafe for students to sit for the SPM exam in the first quarter of this year.
“Looking at the daily new Covid-19 cases and in light of the further extension of Recovery Movement Control Order (RMCO) to March 31, it seems unlikely that the situation will be safe for SPM Examination to be held in the first quarter of 2021.
“In fact, we are now in a far-worse-off Covid pandemic situation than the time in last year when the original SPM Examination dates were postponed.
“Therefore, with such four-digit daily new infection cases, all the more reason the SPM Examination should not be held in the first quarter of this year,” said Chong.
Instead, Chong who is also Kota Sentosa assemblyman suggested that the SPM Certificate should be issued to students based on their past school examinations, course works and mock examination results assessed by their respective teachers.
He noted the Form Five students have endured a long wait for the SPM Examination to be held and the prolong timeline could have put a strain on students in their studies.
As a result, Chong today had faxed a letter of appeal to Minister of Education Dr Mohd Radzi Md Jidin urging him to do away with the SPM examinations and adopt the school assessment system as the basis of the SPM Certificate.
He hoped that Mohd Radzi will make a quick and favourable decision so that students can end their long, uncertain and stressful wait for the examination to be held. — DayakDaily
