NILAI: The days of students taking up to 20 subjects in the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia examination are over. Next year they will be allowed a maximum of only 10 subjects.

Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said this would put an end to the controversy surrounding Public Service Department (PSD) scholarships and the number of As that students obtained in the SPM examination.

He said the government had yet to determine the grading system to be used once the decision is implemented next year to define those eligible for PSD scholarships.

He said the decision was not drastic as the percentage of those affected was relatively small.

He said only about 48,000 of a total of 500,000 SPM students took more than 10 subjects with the majority taking 10 subjects or fewer.
Speaking at the laying of the foundation stone for the Enstek Education Complex and Tunku Kurshiah College project in Bandar Enstek, Muhyiddin, who is also education minister, said the decision to limit the number of subjects was reached at Wednesday’s cabinet meeting.

“We feel that this move will also help teachers focus bet-ter and specialise in core subjects. Apart from that, it will also be less burdensome to parents who will not have to fork out large sums in tuition fees.”

He said the grading system would be announced soon.

“Once determined, this new grading system will help us determine and define those eligible for PSD scholar-ships.”

The issue of streamlining the number of subjects was raised following numerous allegations about the “unfair” distribution of PSD scholarships.

Among the common questions raised were why some students who scored 14 1As were given the scholarships, but some who got 19 1As were denied them.

MCA Youth chief Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong was among those who questioned the PSD on the issue.

Wee, who is also deputy education minister, said MCA Youth had asked party president Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat and the three other MCA ministers to refer the matter to the cabinet.

This was to ascertain the procedure and criteria of awarding scholarships to students to study overseas, he had said.

Gerakan Youth secretary-general Dr Dominic Lau had also called on the PSD to consider reviewing applications of students who were turned down to give them a chance to pursue their studies overseas.

If they were rejected, an explanation should be given to them, Dr Lau had said.

Source: NST online