Will SPM 2021 students be let down by govt too, youth activist asks

 

A student activist who sat for her SPM exams two months ago has questioned whether the Education Ministry has plans for 2021's Form 5 students - amid a pandemic that threatens to destabilise schooling for yet another year.

Nurul Rifayah Muhammad Iqbal, 18, asked whether this year's SPM-takers would miss out on regular education again and be let down by the government.

"I would like to ask the (Education) Ministry if they considered that this year of 2021, there will be another batch of candidates waiting to sit for the SPM," she said.

"Some of them are already anxious to go to school during this pandemic but they are still willing to do so for their SPM.

"Yet, one day they were headed for school, and the other, stuck at home. Again, where are we headed with this?" she asked in an Instagram post.

She was commenting on the closure of 19 schools in Petaling, Selangor after 27 Covid-19 cases were detected.

The Education Ministry has also issued a directive effective today (April 21) that any school with Covid-19 cases will be closed for two days and will switch to home-based learning for that duration.

Nurul (photo), who is also a Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (Muda) pro-tem central executive committee member, said home-based learning policies last year created an education gap among students.

"We have to remind ourselves that this particular intake of SPM 2021 candidates have effectively spent their entire Form 4 at home.

"The fortunate students were able to attend online classes, while the students who were stuck at home without an internet connection or device to attend online classes were left out with not much progress in their education," she said.

Meanwhile, the secondary school graduate also asked when the SPM 2020 results would be released.

Form 5 students last year were forced to take SPM exams in February this year due to delays caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

While the government said it wants to release SPM results early, Nurul, who is waiting to know how she did in the exams, said there is no news on that as of yet.

"When can they (SPM 2020 students) begin to further their education? You are killing their time with uncertainty," she lamented. - Mkini