Kuala Lumpur, Nov 6- A total of 470,395 candidates sat for the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) 2013 at 3,616 examination centres throughout the country beginning today until Dec 5.
According to a statement from the Education Ministry’s Examination Syndicate, of the total, 415,509 candidates were from government schools, government-aided schools and Government-Aided Religious Schools.
A total of 8,054 candidates were from schools under the government agencies besides the Education Ministry such as the Mara Junior Science Colleges (MRSM); 8,325 candidates from Sekolah Menengah Agama Negeri; 11,261 candidates from private sechools registered with the Education Ministry; 25,857 candidates from private schools; and 1,389 candidates from the Sekolah Menengah Agama Rakyat.
At the Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Taman Setiawangsa and SMK Seksyen 5, Wangsa Maju, a check by Bernama revealed that the candidates had made a smart choice by coming to school early to avoid the traffic jams.
There were also several candidates who appeared to take the opportunity to make last-minute references with their friends before sitting for the examination.
Candidates were required to be seated in the examination room or hall as early as 7.50am to listen to the briefing and fill up their personal details on the answer sheets, ie, 10 minutes before the examination started.
Today, the candidates were required to sit for two subjects, namely Bahasa Melayu and Visual Art Education for candidates taking the papers.
In Kuala Terengganu, 22,483 candidates sat for the SPM throughout the state.
The Director of the State Education Department (JPNT), Zakaria Hussien said that 180 examination centres were opened throughout the state for the SPM involving 1,513 invigilators.
“Fifty-eight SPM candidates were Candidates With Special Requirement (CBK). We provide special examination papers according to the requirements of the candidates and gave them an additional half-an-hour,” he said when approached by reporters at the Sekolah Menengah Ibrahim Fikri, here.
He also disclosed that 10 SPM candidates were sitting for the examination at the Hospital Sultanah Nur Zahirah (HSNZ) while another candidate was sitting for the examination at the Dungun Hospital.
In another development, Zakaria said a candidate who was supposed to sit for the SPM (automotive stream), Mohd Nor Alif Harun, 17, from the SMK Sultan Omar in Dungun, died this morning after being in a coma for five days following a road accident.
“He was admitted to the ICU (Intensive Care Unit) at the HSNZ on Friday and died this morning,” he said.
– Bernama
