PETALING JAYA: Smiles, tears and screams were palpable at many secondary schools across the nation when the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) 2021 candidates received their results slips.
These candidates were the first cohort to sit for the Standard-Based Curriculum for Secondary Schools (KSSM) and had no past year examination papers for reference as the format had evolved.
Besides that, this cohort underwent nearly two years of home-based teaching and learning due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Durgashree Balasubramaniam, the youngest child of a single mother, said she didn’t think she could score straight 9 As, especially since she only managed a pass in the school trials for Additional Mathematics.
As tuition classes were expensive, she chose to study on her own, said her mother Jeyanthi Jayaraman.
“My daughter really struggled because of the pandemic and I thank her teachers for helping her no matter the time,” said the daycare teacher.
Durgashree said she hopes to pursue a Foundation in Arts programme through The Star Education Fund.
Chiew Yuit Shuin Ryan from SMK Seri Mutiara, Kuala Lumpur, said it was challenging as he only sat for one exam in school – the trials – before the actual SPM.
The 9A+ student said his single mother was his rock when things got tough.
“When I felt like throwing in the towel, I would just think about the hardship my mother faced, raising two children.”
Shrreya Arivazhagan, the top scorer of SMK (P) Sri Aman, Petaling Jaya, is happy that her sacrifices have paid off as she scored 10 A+s.
“I was quite strict with myself and cut out entertainment although I would ‘treat’ myself to something fun if I did well,” she said, adding that she reduced using social media during her studies.
She was also very fortunate that her parents could provide everything she needed for studying online. She attended multiple tuition classes.
Azreen Maisarah Abu Zahren is also in disbelief as she struggled over the past two years.
The candidate from SMK (P) Sri Aman said she was glad that her perseverance paid off, considering she was part of the second sitting for the Additional Math paper due to quarantine protocols.
Although she had nearly an extra month to study for just one paper, she said she was anxious and did not think she would score an A for it.
Cheong Wen Yi, who also scored 9As, said she had no problem learning online as she treated it like her previous school lessons.
“I would learn during school and then, just refer to my reference books when I did not understand anything.”
However, the practical science papers were challenging, she said, as she barely had time for experiments in the laboratory.
“Suddenly, we had to do experiments for real and I was not used to handling the apparatus and running an experiment,” she added.
During the SPM 2021 results announcement at SMK (P) Sri Aman, Selangor state Education Department director Rohayati Abd Hamed said the school obtained a high grade point average (GPA) of 1.98.
Overall, the state’s GPA is 4.87 an improvement from 2020’s 4.90, she said. A GPA of 0.00 is the highest while 9.00 is the lowest.
She also added that a total of 1,803 candidates scored straight As in Selangor, with 53 of them obtaining all A+s.