GEORGE TOWN: Penang maintained its strong showing in the 2025 Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination, with 30 schools achieving 100% certificate eligibility for their students — the same number as in 2024.
State Education Department director Mohamad Dziauddin Mat Saad (pic) said 20,057 candidates registered for the exam, which was held from Nov 3 to Dec 23, 2025, across 156 examination centres, including 16 in hospitals. Of the 17,933 candidates who sat for the exam, 16,545 (92.26%) qualified for certificates.
He said this during a press conference at the state education department headquarters in Bukit Gambir on Tuesday (March 31).
The number of candidates scoring A+, A, and A- in all subjects fell from 800 in 2024 to 725 in 2025. However, the number of straight A+ scorers increased from 19 to 25.
Penang’s state National Average Grade (GPN) remained unchanged at 4.39.
The number of candidates who missed the examination because they were working dropped from 239 in 2024 to 199 in 2025. According to Mohamad Dziauddin, these students are automatically registered and contacted if they do not plan to attend.
He added that 11 students with special needs or learning difficulties scored multiple As. Among them was Lim Xin Ru from SMK Heng Ee, who obtained 10 As (3 A+, 3 A and 4 A-).
Nationwide, 413,299 candidates sat for the SPM 2025 examination at 3,350 centres. The 2025 session marked a return to the original SPM schedule after delays in previous years due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
