Parents back move to let SPM year students back in school

PETALING JAYA: Parents of Form Five students are confident about letting their children go back to school as long as only exam year students are allowed to do so.

Joy Tan, whose Form Five son studies in a boarding school in Kuala Lumpur, said the environment in his school was more controlled.

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“If schools implement tight SOPs, I think it will be good for the kids in exam classes to move on.

“The children are already burning out but we need the cooperation of teachers, parents and students for this to work well, ” she said, adding that discipline was key.

Echoing Tan was Aishah Ahmed, whose son is a SPM 2021 candidate.

“It’s important for Form 5 students to not miss their lessons as it is an important year that determines their next step, ” she said.

A parent who only wanted to be known as Jenn said she is pleased with the announcement, adding that she wants her son to complete his remaining SPM trial papers and the exams as scheduled.

Despite the re-implementation of MCO in five states and the Federal Territory from Jan 13-26, schools

are still expected to reopen on Jan 20, as announced previously by Education Minister Dr Mohd Radzi Md Jidin.

Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said although there were tight movement restrictions in place, exceptions were granted to exam year students, including SPM 2020 and SPM 2021 candidates.

They are allowed to return to schools with tight SOP in place, he said, adding that the Education Ministry would release details on the matter.

Parent Action Group for Education Malaysia chairman Datin Noor Azimah Abdul Rahim said it had been advocating for the return of only SPM and STPM students.

“We advocated for Forms Five and Six only to return with stricter SOP if the originally scheduled

reopening date were to happen on Jan 20.

“We are happy with the outcome. However, while the Education Ministry fine-tunes the SOP, enforcement is key, ” she added.

Melaka Action Group for Parents in Education chairman Mak Chee Kin said the announcement would solve the issue of classroom and manpower shortage.

The National Union of the Teaching Profession (NUTP) supported the government’s decision, said its secretary-general Harry Tan.

“The SPM is a very important exam, ” he said, adding that if dates were constantly postponed, it would cause undue stress to students, parents and teachers.

“It is also an exam that will prepare students for their future when they enter the workforce as it is the minimum requirement anywhere, ” he said, adding that allowing SPM 2020 and SPM 2021 students to return should not be a problem for teachers to handle as they only made up 40% of the number of students.