Groups urge SPM to be postponed

(The Star) Several calls have been made for the SPM examination, scheduled to begin on Nov 23, to be postponed as the preparations of students in flood-hit Kedah and Perlis would have been affected.

The Parent Action Group for Education said SPM candidates evacuated due to the floods should be given ample opportunity to prepare for the examination.

Its president, Datin Noor Azimah Abdul Rahim, said the government should be sensitive to their problem because studying in an unconducive situation, such as in a flood relief centre, would be difficult for them.

“I can understand their difficulty of having to revise their subjects in a situation where they had to move here and there and their books and notes may have been damaged by the floodwaters,” she said.

Her sentiments were shared by Kedah Gerakan Youth chief Tan Keng Liang and Malaysian Islamic Students Association of Malaysia president Muhammad Faisal Abdul Aziz.

Tan said it should be postponed by at least a week to ensure that candidates were really prepared to sit for the important examination.

“During floods, students are certainly distracted because they have to move out of their homes and focus on their safety and that of their family members.

“It is not fair to evaluate them under such duress,’’ he said.

On Wednesday Education director-general Tan Sri Alimuddin Mohd Dom said the department had identified schools in high-risk flooding zones, and would make arrangement for affected students to sit for examination in the nearest schools.