PETALING JAYA: An education activist has questioned why the education ministry did not intervene earlier to probe the high rate of absenteeism at the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination.
Mak Chee Kin, chairman of the Melaka Action Group for Parents in Education, said the ministry should have looked into the matter after the 2021 edition of the examinations saw 10,681 candidates absent themselves.
“(This year’s number) is indeed alarming. But I wonder why the ministry is probing and thinking of an intervention programme only now,” he told FMT.
“By right, they should have done (so) based on the 2021 record.”
On Sunday, education minister Fadhlina Sidek said the ministry was looking into why 14,858 students failed to show up for the 2022 examinations held in February and March this year.
The absentee rate represents 3.8% of the cohort of 388,832 students who registered for the examination last year.
Fadhlina said the study will allow the ministry to introduce appropriate intervention measures to ensure better student attendance at future examinations.
Mak also asked why state education department officers monitoring the examinations across the country had not reported absenteeism from the very outset.
He said early intervention would have allowed the ministry to gather information about absenteeism directly from candidates which would have gone a long way to minimising its recurrence.
Mak also suggested that the abolishment of the UPSR and PT3 examinations taken by Standard Six and Form Three students, respectively, may have played a part in the high rate of absenteeism.
“The school-based assessment did not work well and did not reflect the real psychometric condition of the students,” he said, adding that they may not have felt sufficiently prepared to sit for a major examination.
Mak also believes the attractiveness of gig economy opportunities which do not require formal qualifications may also have played a role in the students’ decision to stay away.
Earlier this week, DAP’s Charles Santiago called for the education ministry to form a committee to resolve the high number of school dropouts, saying it should be a national priority.
Meanwhile, Parent Action Group for Education (PAGE) chairman Noor Azimah Rahim said the higher rate of absenteeism although concerning, was not unexpected.
“Children from B40 families are still reeling from the effects of Covid-19 such as higher costs of living. Many are having to work to earn a living to supplement their household income,” she said.
Noor Azimah said the loss of learning experienced during the pandemic was not adequately and properly addressed.
“It is not too late to give more personal attention to prospective delinquents, including their mental wellbeing,” she said.
National Union of the Teaching Profession (NUTP) secretary-general Fouzi Singon said the problem of absenteeism at a major examination may be difficult to remedy.
However, the matter could be addressed in the longer term by directing weaker students to fields that suit their skillsets, he said. - FMT
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