KUALA LUMPUR: While some students were disappointed, others were relieved by the government's decision to postpone the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination to February next year.
SPM candidate Tuan Ishani Shazea, 17, from Kuala Lipis, Pahang, said students would have more time to study for their exams.
"Now is the right time to strategise the study schedule since most schools have not completed even 50 per cent of the syllabus despite us being halfway through the year."
However, she said, the point of having more time to prepare may not be entirely valid, especially if students depended on e-learning as it was not as effective as face-to-face learning.
"Learning at home is a challenge. Most of us cannot focus as we do in school. Internet connection is bad to the point that I couldn't join any of my classes for a week. The teachers recorded their lessons, but with an unreliable Internet connection, it takes forever to download the videos," the Sekolah Berasrama Penuh Integrasi Gombak student told the New Straits Times.
E-learning, she said, was stressful for both teachers and students, especially Form Five students who were demotivated since undergoing home-based teaching and learning (PdPR) last year.
Students' grades were also affected, she said.
"We had only a month of traditional classroom learning this year. That is not enough to cover everything we have learnt online."
Her mother, Rohaiza Jamaludin, 57, urged the government to improve Internet connectivity.
"There are hundreds, maybe thousands of students who cannot attend classes even if they wanted to due to poor Internet connection, especially those who live on the outskirts."
Amir Hadzrin, 17, from Seri Manjung, Perak, said despite e-learning being difficult, it should not be an excuse as there were many ways to make use of resources at home.
"The postponement of the examination is one of the government's efforts to break the chain of infections and give students more time to revise.
"Learning online is tough, butthere should not be any excuse. There are ways to revise on our own such as by using the web and smartphone," said the SMK Ahmad Boestamam student.
Another Form Five student, Darryl Tan Hwee Jian of SMJK Katholik, said while the announcement did not come as a surprise, it was disappointing.
"I am adjusting well to e-learning. I realise that I am one of the fortunate ones because the teachers in my school have worked hard to cover the syllabus via online classes."
Tan's mother, Koay Joo Bee, an administrator of the Malaysia Primary School Parents Facebook group (a parents' networking group with 35,500 members founded in 2013), said it was demoralising because students had to prolong their study period for nine months.
She said there were also concerns about registering on time for foundation courses to meet the deadlines for local and overseas university programmes.
"However, it is necessary to allow more time for those who cannot have continuous online learning during this time."