PUTRAJAYA: A total 9,696 Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) candidates for the 2021 examination obtained straight As for all subjects.
This marked a slight increase from 2020 where 9,411 candidates obtained such results.
Education director-general Datuk Nor Zamani Abdol Hamid, in announcing the results today, said last year's candidates were the first cohort of the Kurikulum Standard Sekolah Menengah (KSSM) implemented since 2017, which emphasised more on the development of well-balanced human capital and less on the number of As.
She said a total 336,630 (88.09 per cent) 2021 SPM candidates obtained the certificate for fulfilling the minimum requirement pass in the Bahasa Melayu and History subjects.
A total 407,097 students registered for the examinations, held in two sessions between February and May.
The National Grade Average (GPN) of the 2021 SPM stood at 4.86 compared to 4.80 in 2020, with 211,334 (55.29 per cent) candidates acing all subjects.
"Subject performance analysis reporting is divided into three categories, namely 27 new subjects, 48 existing subjects using the new format and 20 existing subjects with the same format.
"The Kadazandusun language subject showed the highest performance for existing category subjects under the new format," she said.
She said the Kadazandusun subject recorded the highest Subject Grade Average (GPMP) with 2.45 while Additional Mathematics recorded the largest decrease with 5.84.
Meanwhile, in the performance category of existing subjects under the current format, the Turath Dirasat Islamiah subject recorded the highest performance with a GPMP of 1.26 while Economy recorded the biggest decrease with 5.77.
Met later, Nor Zamani said she was proud of all the candidates who managed to persevere despite facing challenges due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
"It was tough for the students, especially with limited face-to-face learning and teaching sessions. Those who took Science had to rush for their lab exercise within the limited time period.
"Their achievements are something we should celebrate," she said, adding that the Examinations Board would conduct a further analysis of the results.
She said for the English subject, it was streamlined with the Common Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), an international standard used to gauge the students' command of the language.
She said a meeting was held with representatives from the UPU (university admissions unit) where they discussed the criteria of intakes.
She said the requirements should be different from those of students under KBSM or Kurikulum Bersatu Sekolah Menengah.
Nor Zamani said KSSM was implemented to prepare students with the necessary knowledge, skills and values to fulfil the country's future needs and in line with the Malaysia Education Development Plan 2013-2025.
It emphasised on skills such as communication, collaboration, as well as critical and creative thinking.
"All these skills will enable candidates to develop their potential in facing future challenges and global needs."
Candidates can also check their SPM results on myresultspm.moe.gov.my or via short message service (SMS) by typing SPM