Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said the Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia (STPM) 2014 results showed the achievement gap between urban and rural students had been narrowed.

Pleased with the candidates' performance, Muhyiddin, who is also Education Minister, said it was an indicator of the effectiveness of the education system and that the policies practised by the ministry had succeeded in providing a quality education to all layers of society.

"The Education Ministry is constantly making efforts to raise the education standard. The STPM results are an indicator that the efforts are bearing fruit," he said in a statement here today.

According to him, the better performance was not only in terms of the grades of students with full passes, but also the National Cumulative Grade Point Average which rose from 2.57 in 2013 to 2.62 for the 2014 STPM.

"I congratulate the 41,915 students who passed the examination, in particular the 408 students who scored A in all subjects," he said.

The Deputy Prime Minister also congratulated parents for the success of their children.

"It is really the encouragement from the family which is needed to push the student's achievement. This success is closely connected to the attitude of teachers and family.

"In other words, the success of the students is partly the result of the hard work and determination of the families and teachers," he said.

Muhyiddin said the results of the 2014 STPM also showed that the efforts of the Education Ministry through the Malaysian Education Blueprint, especially in transforming and empowering Form Six had a direct effect on the improvement of the performance of teachers and students who strove to be excellent.

He added that the changes in the STPM assessment system also played a role as a catalyst in the ability of the school community to improve its performance, thus contributing to the students' success.

At the same time, he reminded that the awards given to excellent students and schools were incentives for their efforts and encouragement to others to work towards excellence.

"To those who were less successful, I want to remind them not to give up. I believe that if we continue to work hard and improve ourselves, God willing, we will be successful," Muhyiddin said.