Nearly three-quarters of STPM top scorers hail from B40 group
SELAYANG: Nearly three-quarters of the top Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia (STPM) 2023 candidates are from the B40 group.
Out of the 1,116 candidates who scored a 4.00 cumulative grade point average (CGPA), 803 (71.2%) came from poor households.
Overall, 1,116 (2.7%) of the STPM 2023 candidates scored a perfect 4.00 CGPA, the highest in the examination’s 41-year history.
However, the number of candidates who scored a perfect 4.00 had dropped by 68 compared with the previous year’s exams.
Those who scored 5As for all five subjects increased to 41 candidates, of which 29 were from the B40 group.
As for those with 4As, 782 out of 1,087 candidates were from the B40 group.
Nearly 10% of all candidates had a CGPA of 3.75 and above, 44.8% had a CGPA of 3.00 and above, 58.8% had a CGPA of 2.75 and above, and 90.1% had a CGPA of 2.00 and above.
This marked an overall improvement from 2022, said Malaysian Examinations Council (MPM) chairman Prof Datuk Dr Mohd Ekhwan Toriman.
“With more candidates achieving these CGPAs, it is hoped that there will be no obstacles for them to receive offers to study in public universities,” he said at MPM’s office yesterday.
He added that the hard work and passion of the B40 candidates, along with the support of their families and teachers, contributed greatly to their success.
All 23 subjects offered, he said, saw more than two-thirds of candidates achieving grade C and above – a full pass.
To ensure that STPM remained relevant with current developments to meet national needs and be recognised internationally, MPM had refined the existing STPM syllabus, he said.
The revisions would focus on the relevance of the syllabus in terms of goals, objectives, topics taught and learned, teaching time for each topic, candidates’ learning outcomes and assessment scheme (school format and weighting) for each semester.
Mohd Ekhwan said the new syllabus would start being used from next year and that STPM 2026 would be based on it.
He also said 41,158 candidates sat for the examinations with 1,360 not showing up due to various reasons, including getting an offer to pursue their higher education elsewhere, assisting their families or joining the workforce.
During the award ceremony for top achievers, Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek said STPM was recognised in both local and overseas universities.
“The recognition of STPM is very valuable, especially when candidates get excellent results and get placements in renowned universities,” she added.
