All set to go: An examination candidate entering the hall for the Bahasa Melayu Paper 1 at SMK Pondok Upeh in Balik Pulau, Penang. — ZHAFARAN NASIB/The Star .
BALIK PULAU: Six sick Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) candidates in Penang are taking their examinations in the hospital, according to Penang Education Department director Wan Sajiri Wan Hassan.
He said no cases of influenza or Covid-19 have been reported among the candidates.
Wan Sajiri said 19,255 candidates are sitting for the examinations, which began yesterday.
Of these, 17,419 are from government schools, 372 from schools under government agencies, 237 from private schools, 249 from religious schools (Sekolah Agama Rakyat) and 978 are private candidates.
Wan Sajiri said 1,738 exam invigilators have been appointed to facilitate the SPM examinations.
“The state Education Department is also working with various agencies, both government and private, to address any potential natural disasters, such as flooding, that may occur during this year’s examination period,” he said.
He urged candidates affected by such events to immediately notify their schools or the state Education Department if they cannot reach their designated examination centres or nearby alternatives.
“Candidates can reach out to the examination operations room hotline, which is available at the Examination Board headquarters and state education offices nationwide.
“Alhamdulillah, no floods have been reported in the state so far,” he said during a press conference at SMK Pondok Upeh here.Wan Sajiri spent about 30 minutes monitoring the start of the examinations there.
The SPM written test is being held from Jan 2 to Feb 6, with 402,956 candidates nationwide sitting for the exams at 3,337 examination centres nationwide.
