SPM: 14,858 candidates did not sit for exam, Education Ministry to find out why

ALOR SETAR: The Education Ministry will look into why 14,858 first-time candidates were absent from their Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) 2022 examinations, says Fadhlina Sidek.

The minister said that the absent candidates made up 3.8% of the total 388,832 candidates, and added that the ministry was looking into the right mechanism to solve the issue.

She said there could be several factors and reasons that may have prompted the students to give their exams a miss.

"The ministry is looking into the factors so that we can identify (the reasons) and stage a necessary intervention to ensure better attendance in coming years," said Fadhlina.

She added that she believes that there are several factors that could prompt a candidate to not attend the exams.

Speaking to reporters at Sekolah Menengah Jenis Kebangsaan (SMJK) Keat Hwa in Jalan Kuala Kedah on Sunday (June 11), she said that a trend compared to the previous year can only be concluded once the findings are ready.

“There are various categories of candidates, such as those from Education Ministry schools, private candidates and others. Hence, we need a proper breakdown to identify why this is happening,” she said.

Fadhlina added that more than 90% of SPM candidates were eligible to obtain their certificates, adding that the rate is higher than the previous years.

She then said that there was no need to release the rankings for the best-performing schools for SPM 2022.

It was reported that 14,858 or 3.8% of 388,832 first-time candidates did not attend for at least six subjects.

According to the ministry’s analysis, the number of absent candidates for SPM 2021 was 10,681 or 2.7% of the 392,837 registered candidates.