KLUANG: Students who did not take their Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination were influenced by their friends who prioritised making money over education, says a teacher.
According to Mohd Ridhwan Othman, chairman of the Malaysian Education Concorde Organisation (Me’Didik), these teenagers followed in the footsteps of their school dropout friends by taking up food delivery jobs.
“Most of them come from B40 families.
“They do not see the value of education; they are just thinking of making money and spending it for short-term joy,” he added.
He noted that many of his former students later regretted their mistakes.
His comments came in response to Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek’s statement that 8,076 SPM examinees did not sit for all the written papers in the 2024 SPM exam, which ended on Feb 6.
On Feb 13, Fadhlina told the Dewan Rakyat that according to the School Attendance Management Application, the most common reasons for students not attending the exam were employment, family issues, health problems, and relocation abroad
Wanita MCA chief Datuk Wong You Fong (pic) addressed misconceptions among youngsters about working in Singapore.
She said many believed that good academic qualifications were unnecessary, as they could still earn lucrative incomes by doing low-paying jobs in the Republic due to the high exchange rate of S$1 to RM3.30.
Wong corrected this misunderstanding.
“You must at least pass your SPM to work in Singapore.
“Youth in the country should remember that they must at least complete their basic education by passing their SPM examinations before considering other pursuits,” she said at the Johor Wanita MCA Chinese New Year gathering here yesterday.
Johor English Language Teaching Association president Vincent D. Silva has urged school counsellors to help students who skipped their SPM exams.
He said these teenagers could also enter vocational institutions to learn some skills.
On a Malay daily’s report recently, more than 900 students in Johor did not take their SPM exam.
State education and information committee chairman Aznan Tamin has encouraged these students to seek advice from the Johor Talent Development Council about pursuing Technical and Vocational Education and Training.
