Ahmad Mukhsein Mukhtar
SUNGAI PETANI: Kedah has recorded a state average grade (GPN) of 4.77 for its Sijil Peperiksaan Malaysia (SPM) in 2023, the state's best overall result in 13 years, with 568 or 2.32 percent of candidates scoring straight As.
A lower GPN value indicates better candidate achievement.
State education director Ismail Othman said the results showed notable improvement in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) subject scores and a positive trend in narrowing the gap between rural and urban school performances.
"The SPM achievement in 2023 is indeed the best since 2010, with a GPN of 4.77 compared to 4.98 in 2022 and 5.14 in 2021.
"Out of 24,528 candidates who took the SPM in 2023, 568 scored straight As, compared to 441 (1.81 per cent) in 2022, an increase of 127 candidates (0.51 per cent).
"This is a very encouraging and proud achievement for the entire education community in Kedah," he said during a press conference after announcing the state's SPM results at Park Avenue Hotel, Sungai Petani, today.
He said the positive performance improvement in STEM subjects also indicates that the government's efforts to develop interest in the area have been successful.
"For STEM subjects, pure science, and additional mathematics, four subjects recorded performance improvements. The highest improvement was in mathematics, which improved in GPN to 5.59 compared to 5.86 in 2022.
"This is due to our STEM and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) promotion programmes, where we encourage students to develop interests in those subjects," he added.
He also said that the gap between urban and rural schools in the state showed no difference in GPN performance compared to a 0.15 difference in 2022.
"There is no gap between schools in rural and urban areas. Both have improved their performance, with both scoring a GPN of 4.77 compared to 4.97 in urban areas and 5.12 in rural areas in 2022," he added.
Commenting further, he said 23,016 candidates (93.84 per cent), qualified to receive their SPM certificate in 2023 compared to 22,022 candidates (90.21 per cent) in 2022.
"This increase of 994 candidates (3.63 per cent) is based on the certification requirement introduced in 2013, which mandates passing both Bahasa Melayu and History subjects for SPM certification.
"In addition, 134 special needs candidates sat for the SPM in 2023, with 98 candidates (73.13 per cent) qualifying for the certificate compared to 56 candidates (70.89 per cent) in 2022, showing an increase of 42 candidates (2.24 per cent)," he added.