PUTRAJAYA:Written examinations for Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM), Sijil Vokasional Malaysia (SVM) and Sijil Tinggi Agama Malaysia (STAM) this year which have been postponed, will be held from Feb 22, next year, said Senior Minister (Education) Dr Radzi Jidin.

He said the Sijil Tinggi Pelajaran Malaysia (STPM) examination would begin on March 8.

He added that the ministry has decided that the candidates would resume school session from Jan 20 to assist them prepare adequately before sitting for the public examinations.

“The ministry hopes that this would benefit the candidates who have been affected by the school closure,” he told a media conference on “Operations of Education Institutions under the Education Ministry and Public Examinations 2020,” here, today.

Also present were Deputy Education Minister I Dr Mah Hang Soon, Deputy Education Minister II Muslimin Yahaya and Education director-general Dr Habibah Abdul Rahim.

Radzi said the details on all public examinations would be announced soon.

According to Radzi, the number of registered candidates for SPM 2020 was 400,445 people with 8,371 (SVM, Semester Four), 7,996 (STAM) and 47,008 (STPM).

Meanwhile, he said the ministry also decided to postpone the implementation of the Special School Admission Assessment (PKSK) for Form One and Form Four students to a later date.

Besides that, he said coursework and assessments for the SPM trial examination, which have been scheduled until this December and yet to be completed, would be rescheduled again.

Radzi added that the rescheduling of public examinations would not affect student’s admission to Public Institutions of Higher Education and other public tertiary institutions for 2021 via the UPUOnline system managed by the Higher Education Ministry.

He said the Malaysian University English Test (MUET) for matriculation students, scheduled for Dec 8 to 19, was also postponed to next year and the details would be announced later.

-- BERNAMA