MOE: SPM And STPM Postponed To 2021 While PT3 And UPSR Are Cancelled
Education Minister Dr Mohd Radzi Md Jidin broke the news during a special address today, 15 April.
By Arisha Rozaidee — 15 Apr 2020, 04:36 PM
The Ministry of Education (MOE) has made several important announcements with regard to the COVID-19 pandemic
Education Minister Dr Mohd Radzi Md Jidin broke the news regarding changes to the national education system during a special address at 4pm today, 15 April.
He said, "What's important right now is the children's safety."
1. The ministry will announce the re-opening of schools at least two weeks prior to the actual date
Dr Mohd Radzi said that MOE will work closely with the Ministry of Health (MOH) to determine a suitable date for the re-opening of schools. The decision will only be made once the ministry is truly confident that the situation has returned to normal.
For now, the re-opening of schools will only involve students sitting for examinations such as Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM), Sijil Vokasional Malaysia (SVM), Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia (STPM), Sijil Tinggi Agama Malaysia (STAM), as well as other international assessments.
2. National exams SPM, SVM, STPM and STAM will be postponed
MOH announced that SPM, SVM, and STAM will be postponed to the first quarter of 2021.
Meanwhile, exam dates for the second semester of national pre-university programme STPM has been postponed to August 2020 and the third semester will be pushed to the first quarter of 2021.
3. MOE and the Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) have also decided that registrations for higher learning institutions will be pushed back
Dr Mohd Radzi said, "Realising how the postponement of these examination dates will affect the intake of higher learning institutions, MOE and MOHE have decided to push back the registration dates for programmes such as foundation, matriculation, and diploma to July or August 2021."
Meanwhile, university undergraduate registrations will be postponed to September or October 2021.
4. UPSR and PT3 are cancelled
The minister reassured that although UPSR is cancelled, it will not affect the assessment of a student's mastery level after attending primary education.
"MOE will introduce a new method to assess students for admissions to Fully Residential Schools (SBP), National Islamic Secondary Schools (SMKA), MARA Junior Science Colleges (MRSM), and Royal Military College (RMC)," he said.
A new method will also be introduced as a replacement for PT3. Results obtained from this method will be one of the criteria for admissions to SBP and Technical Institutions.
