7,987 SPM candidates excel

PUTRAJAYA: 7,987 Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) 2009 candidates registered excellent results (A+, A, and/or A-) for all subjects sat for compared to 6,277 in 2008.

Education director-general Tan Sri Alimuddin Mohd Dom said of the total 214 candidates had excellent grades (A+) in accordance with the new grading implemented last year.

He said the new top grade was introduced as a higher grade than 1A to further detail a candidate's excellence.

"I am glad to announce that on the whole the achievements of the candidates this time is something to be proud of, exceeding the achievements of last year.

"The achievements of the candidates increased from the aspect of numbers obtaining excellent certificates (A+, A and/or A-) and passing all subjects sat for," he said when announcing the analyses for the SPM and Sijil Tinggi Agama Malaysia (STAM) 2009 examinations at the Education Ministry here today.

He said 465,853 candidates registered for exams last year.
Alimuddin said of the 59,433 private candidates and candidates of private schoolS and agency-sponsored schools besides the Education Ministry, 41 candidates had excellent grades (A+).

He also announced that Gladys Tan Yee Kim from Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Green Road, Kuching, Sarawak was the best student for SPM 2009 and Sekolah Menengah Sains Seremban, Negeri Sembilan as the best school.

He said of the 10 best students the other nine were Grace Kiew Sze-Ern (SMK (P) Sri Aman, Petaling Jaya, Selangor); Khadijah Ahmad Jais (SM Agama Persekutuan Labu, Negeri Sembilan); Akmal Hidayat Sabri (SMK Derma, Kangar, Perlis); Syamilah Mahali (Kolej Tunku Kurshiah Seremban, Negeri Sembilan); Lee Wei Ling (SMK Taman Melawati, Selangor); Nur Syuhadah Muhamad (SM Sains Tengku Muhammad Faris Petra, Kota Bharu, Kelantan); Lai Yin Kwin (SMK Tinggi Melaka, Melaka); Corinne Gunn Huey Min (SMK Taman Melawati, Selangor); and Hu May Khei (SMK Convent, Taiping, Perak).

He said the other nine best schools were Kolej Islam Sultan Alam Shah, Klang, Selangor; Sekolah Berasrama Penuh Integrasi (SBPI) Gombak, Jalan Sungai Pusu, Gombak, Kuala Lumpur; Sekolah Tun Fatimah, Johor Bahru, Johor; Sekolah Menengah Sains Alam Shah, Kuala Lumpur; SBPI Rawang, Selangor; Sekolah Menengah Sains Muar, Johor; SBPI Temerloh, Pahang; SMK Infant Jesus Convent, Johor Bahru, Johor and Kolej Tunku Kurshiah Seremban, Negeri Sembilan.

Alimuddin said of the 406,420 Education Ministry candidates who sat for the exam, 364,046 (90.8 per cent) obtained the SPM certificate compared to 347,443 (90.8 per cent) in 2008.

"Eventhough the percentage is the same there has been an increase in the number of candidates of 16,603. The achievement is stable as the previous year.

He said 199,155 (49.6 per cent) candidates passed all subjects taken compared to 181,419 (47.4 per cent) last year.

He said of that total 68,131 (17 per cent) had at least grade C for all subjects compared to 60,902 (15.9 per cent) in 2008.


"This achievement shows a good increase. However, the number of candidates who failed or obtained G grade increased, that is 4,626 (1.15 per cent) in 2009 compared to 2,589 (0.67 per cent) in 2008," he said.

Alimuddin said 538 candidates who had special needs for various disabilities sat for the 2009 SPM exam compared to 481 candidates in 2008 and of that number 251 (51.9 per cebt) obtained the SPM certificate compared to 208 (47.8 per cent) in 2008.

He said two candidates with impaired eyesight got four A+, three As and four A- for 11 subjects sat for and one had four A+, three As and three A- for 10 subjects sat for.

"Two more candidates with various handicaps did very well when both got eight A+, two As for 10 subjects taken," he said.

He said the achievements of urban and rural students was better compared to the previous year as 5,942 urban students and 1,243 rural students did well in all subjects compared to 4,750 urban students and 989 rural students in 2008.

He said the divide between urban and rural students was narrowed in performance in core subjects like English, Science and Moral Education.

Alimuddin said however efforts to reduce the performance divide between urban and rural students needed to be increased especially in Bahasa Melayu, History, Mathematics and Islamic Studies.

He said based on average school grades, 66 schools were in the Excellent category, 278 (Good), 1,654 (Satisfactory) and 143 (Potential) and this showed that the efforts of the ministry to enhance schools' performance was successfully implemented.

Alimuddin said the number of students who passed the Bahasa Melayu and English language papers in the SPM exam last year charted an increase compared to the previous year.

He said 364,046 students passed Bahasa Melayu in last year's exam compared to 347,443 in 2008 and 302,501 passed English compared to 282,471 the previous year.

He said the government was striving towards entrenching Bahasa Melayu and strengthening English so that the performance in both these subjects can be enhanced.


In JOHOR BAHARU, 1,010 candidates obtained excellent grades(A+, A and/or A-) in all subjects sat for including 29 who had A+ for all subjects sat for.
State education director Sufa'at Tumin said 39 schools had 100 per cent passes while the state average grade was 5.32.

"Overall, the Johor SPM results are something to be proud of. 42,370 candidates got the SPM certificate compared to 40,379 in the previous year," he said.

Sufa'at said 23,625 candidates passed all subjects taken and of that number 8,173 had at least a C grade in all subjects taken.

He said Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Infant Jesus Convent, Johor Baharu, student Tan Yen Ling, was the best student with 14A+s.


In ALOR SETAR, Kedah education director Shahidan Abd Rahman said the SPM results in the state showed an average grade of 5.560.

"Among schools that registered excellent results were SBPI Kubang Pasu, SMK Sultanah Asma, SM Sultan Abdul Halim, SMK Sultan Badlishah, SM Sains Pokok Sena, SM Sains Sultan Mohamad Jiwa, SMK Ibrahim, SMK Keat Hwa and SMK Agama Sik," he said in a media statement here today.

Shahidan said nine candidates got A+ in all subjects taken while 408 (1.33 per cent) had A+, A and A- in all subjects sat for.

In SEREMBAN, Deputy state education director Jamali Salam said 15 candidates had A+ in all subjects. They were among 590 candidates who were excellent students with A+, A and A- in all subjects taken.

"Felda schools showed good performance. There were four excellent students as opposed to none the previous year," he said.


In KUALA LUMPUR, 669 candidates had excellent grades of A+, A and A- with 21 having A+ in all subjects taken.

Kuala Lumpur education director Mohd Adenan Deraman said the results were good as 17,681 candidates earned the SPM certificate compared to 16,789 the previous year.

Four schools registered excellent results and they were Sekolah Menengah (SM) Alam Shah, Sekolah Menengah Sains Seri Puteri, Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Aminuddin Baki and SM Sains Selangor.


In PENANG, state education director Ibrahim Ahmad said 26 students had A+ while 717 had a combination of A+, A and A- in all subjects taken.

"The achievements of fully government aided schools is good and 17,373 candidates out of 20,042 or 87.71 per cent will receive the SPM certificate.
Ibrahim said 20 schools in the state registered 100 per cent passes and among them were SMK (P) St George, SMKA Al-Irshad, SMK Dato Onn, SMK Penang Free and SMK Bukit Jambul.

In KANGAR, state education director Mansor Lat said the results were better this time where 4,255 candidates out of 4,696 will get the SPM certificate.
Seven candidates got A+ in all subjects taken while seven schools registered 100 per cent passes compared to six last year.

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