This is for you: SMK Presint 18 (1) student Insyirah Fatihah Lukman sharing her results via video call with her parents in Mecca. — MUHAMAD SHAHRIL ROSLI/The Star
PUTRAJAYA: The first batch of students who sat for the new Standard-Based Curriculum for Secondary Schools (KSSM) have fared well despite a dip in the national average grade (GPN), says the Education Ministry.
The SPM 2021 GPN is 4.86, compared with 4.80 in 2020.
Despite the dip, more students obtained all As in 2021, with a total of 2.54% (9,696 candidates) obtaining all As, compared with 9,411 candidates in SPM 2020.
Explaining the lower GPN number, Education director-general Datuk Nor Zamani Abdol Hamid said a lower GPN means a better score, but that it would be an unfair comparison to the SPM 2021 batch, as they are the first to sit for the new KSSM and exam format.
“This was a new exam format with new subjects offered.
“We will do an analysis to determine what factors can help improve subjects that can bolster students’ achievements.
“Our students have done their best,” she said yesterday when announcing the results for SPM 2021.
She added that the SPM 2021 batch had their English and Bahasa Melayu oral tests aligned with the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR).
Additionally, 211,334 candidates, or 55.29%, passed all their subjects for the exams.
Nor Zamani said some states did well while others needed improvement.
“They are the first KSSM cohort, so it is challenging for us to determine exactly (what factors drove the results),” she added.
As the SPM 2021 exams were conducted amid the Covid-19 pandemic, she said the ministry ensured the management of the exams were conducted according to the ministry’s Guidelines for School Management and Operations 3.0.
A total of 407,097 candidates registered for the SPM 2021 throughout the country, an increase of 1.49% from SPM 2020, she said.
Nor Zamani said the number of candidates qualified for the SPM 2021 certificate is 88.09% – a slight drop by 0.59% from 2020.
Additionally, the number of invigilators also increased by 2,500 to 50,514 to cater to the standard operating procedures.
“A total of 95 subjects were offered in SPM 2021, of which 27 are new subjects and 68 are existing subjects,” she added.
Education Minister Datuk Dr Radzi Jidin said the 2021 cohort of SPM students were affected the most by the Covid-19 pandemic while they were in Forms Four and Five.
Putting the challenges they faced into perspective, he said there is no comparison to previous years as they are the first batch to sit for the new KSSM.
“This is why we pushed for them to return to schools as early as possible.
“Overall, the SPM 2021 results were good and what’s important now is to analyse the results in more detail to identify if there are specific factors that drove the results for certain subjects,” he said after visiting SMK Putrajaya Presint 18 (1) in conjunction with the release of the SPM 2021 results yesterday.
He advised the SPM 2021 candidates at SMK Putrajaya Presint 18 (1) to plan their next step and to discuss with their parents which pathway post-SPM would be the most suitable for them.
“Regardless of your results, you have done your best within the constraints (that presented itself),” he said.
