Star Q
i. STPM 2013
There was indeed some truth in what was mentioned in a letter to the Star newspaper written by Sophyta of Baling Kedah. She pointed out that the SPM 2013 candidates who sat for the Moral paper should not be penalised for the blunder made by the exam syndicate. For these candidates however, this is the least of their problems.
Ever since I can remember, SPM candidates have been penalised for things that they have no control over or for things that they did not do. This, I fear will also happen to the present candidates. This situation is mostly true with the English Language SPM papers.
It goes without saying that year after year students with relatively low and moderate English proficiency seem to manage a pass in their English papers. These same students who never did well in their school-based examinations, be they the Mid-Year or End-of-Year examinations for forms four and five. These same students, who while the English teachers are teaching profusely (really and honestly!) in front of the classroom, chose to sit back and relax in class. These are the students who know full well that their mediocre proficiency in the language can get them a pass for English in their SPM (the reasons behind this is slated for a future entry)
The reality of the matter only appears when these students go out and join the rat race, apply for jobs and show their SPM qualifications as resume. That is the time when they feel they have been penalised for something that they did not do (literally!) When prospective employers conduct interviews (in English) with these ex-students, they realise the SPM qualification for English does not match with their ability to use the language in real life! These employers make a shocking assumption that even after eleven years of school (six years in primary and five years in secondary!) these ex-students still cannot speak well in English.
When one looks at the primary school, secondary school, SPM examination and job hunting timeline, one cannot help but feel that along the line something must have gone wrong. Those in the primary school will point to the secondary school; those there will point to the examination syndicate and so on.
The vicious cycle of finger-pointing and passing the buck will never end. Only someone who has had experience in all the four areas in the timeline will know where the mistake originated from. It is therefore, a pity that SPM candidates have to be penalised and in turn have their future jeopardized, only because of this certain entity in the timeline.
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