470,395 candidates sit for SPM today

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 government agencies besides the Education Ministry, such as the Mara Junior Science Colleges (MRSM); 8,325 candidates from SM Agama Negeri; 11,261 candidates from private schools registered with the Education Ministry; 25,857 candidates from private schools; and 1,389 candidates from the SM Agama Rakyat. At SMK Taman Setiawangsa and SMK Seksyen 5, Wangsa Maju, a check by Bernama revealed that the candidates 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 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.