KOTA KINABALU: Sabah has performed well in the 2020 SPM examination despite the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic which ushered in a new era of "online learning" for the present generation of students.
Former Sabah deputy chief minister Datuk Christina Liew said the results indicated a heartening improvement and this should motivate all parties concerned to strive for further improvement in the examination this year.
Liew, who is the chairman of Sabah PKR Leadership Council (MPN) said this when opening the online "People's Forum: Impact of Teaching-Learning at Home (PdPR) on Generational Education" today.
Based on data provided by the State Education Department, Liew said overall, the State Average Grade (GPN) recorded for the 2020 SPM is 5.34 compared with 5.38 in 2019. (A smaller GPN value indicates better candidate achievement).
"This shows a quality improvement by 0.04 points. I understand that the 5.34 GPN is the best for Sabah in the past four years since 2017. Overall, the passing rate for SPM certification is 90.42 per cent compared with 87.79 in 2019 (registering an increase of 2.63 per cent).
"Similarly, of the seven core subjects, five (English, Pendidikan Islam, Science, Moral Education and History) have improved in terms of quality in contrast with the results for 2019."
Liew congratulated Sabah Education Department Director Datuk Dr Mistirine Radin, her team of officers as well as school heads, teachers and parents on the students' academic performance in the 2020 SPM examination.
"They have worked extremely hard to ensure that students continue to learn effectively in a new environment," she said.
However, Liew, who is also Tawau MP and Api Api Assemblywoman expressed concern over a number of education-related issues that needed to be addressed including digitalisation in education.
She said many rural students, especially those from B40 households, were still waiting for their laptops from the government to facilitate the e-learning process.
"This matter must be addressed to ensure the e-learning process runs smoothly and effectively."
The forum today was organised by the Sabah PKR MPN's Information and Communication Team led by Chrisnadia Sinam.
It was coordinated by Chrisnadia who is also the party's State Information Chief, and moderated by Milus Alu who is Sabah PKR Religious Understanding Bureau Head.
Also present were Inanam assemblyman Peto Galim, Sabah PKR MPN members and party branch heads.
The panelists were Datuk Dr Sangkar Rasam, Azmi Datu Tamboyong and Dikin Musah, all of whom are former teachers.