Johor students have achieved the best Penilaian Menengah Rendah (PMR) examination results in five years.
Johor Education director Sufa’at Tumin said Johor had shown an improvement in School Average Grade or “Gred Purata Sekolah” (GPS) by obtaining a score of 2.84.
“This is the best GPS in five years,” he said, adding that the percentage of students who passed was 63.32% and the percentage of students who obtained excellent results was 5.65%, compared with 4.93% in 2007.
He said that out of 57,613 students who took the examination, 356 scored 9As, 2,348 obtained 8As while 327 scored 7As.
Sufa’at added that the teaching of Maths and Science in English did not affect the students as 88.74% of the students obtained Grade A, B, C, and D in Mathematics and 89.19% in Science. He said the number of students who obtained all Es dropped from 42 in 2007 to 24 this year.
The top three schools in the state are Sekolah Tun Fatimah, Johor Baru; SM Sains Johor, Kluang; and SM Sains Kota Tinggi.
In Ipoh, Perak Education director Mohd Radzi Abd Jabar said a total of 2,591 candidates (or 6.11%) scored straight As. Of the 2,591 pupils, 206 scored nine As, 1,174 had eight As while 611 obtained seven As.
A total of 41,676 pupils sat for the examinations in Perak.
In Kuantan, State Education Department director Datuk Abdul Aziz Latiff said 1,377 from 27,028 Pahang students scored all As in all subjects taken. He added that 253 students scored 9As while 1,029 scored 8As and nine scored 7As. He said a total of 17,298 of them passed all their subjects.
Thirteen schools – the same as last year – recorded 100% passes. They are Sekolah Menengah (SM) Sains Tengku Abdullah, SM Sains Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah, SM Sains Sultan Ahmad Shah, Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Abdul Rahman Talib, SMK Berasrama Penuh Integrasi, SMK Sultan Abu Bakar, SMK Ahmad, SMK Seri Jengka, SMK Sultanah Hajjah Kalsom, SMK Seri Bentong, SMK Muadzam Shah, SMK Seri Pekan and SMK Jengka Pusat.
In Malacca, state Education Department director Isa Abu said some 65.1% or 9,272 students chalked passes compared with 9,301 students last year. He said there was also an improvement in the quality of passes with 879 students scoring straight As, an increase of six from last year.
He added that the improvement in the overall passing results was also seen in English (76.4%), Mathematics (87.3%) and Science (91.4%) compared with last year.
SMK Sains Muzaffar Shah in Ayer Keroh, SMK Infant Jesus Convent in Bandar Hilir and SMK Agama Sharifah Rodziah in Telok Mas came up tops with 100% passes.
Meanwhile, all 54 students of private boarding school College Yayasan Saad in Ayer Keroh scored straight As.
In Kota Kinabalu, Sabah Education Department deputy director Dr Muhiddin Yusin said the number of students who scored between 7As and 9As increased to 660 from 596 last year.
He said of the 39,487 students who sat for the examinations this year, 20,500 or 54.24% obtained at least a D grade.
TS
December 30, 2008
Some Tamil schools making admissions difficult
THE Malaysian Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) has received complaints that some Tamil schools are asking for parents’ marriage certificates and identity cards before their children are admitted to the school
Its commissioner Datuk N. Siva Subramaniam said only children’s birth certificates need to be produced as they had all the necessary information to admit a child in school.
parents whose children had been denied entry into schools to forward their complaints to Suhakam.
> Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s department Datuk S. K. Devamany said MIC and Permodalan Nasional Berhad had held three meetings to discuss raising the equity of Indians to 1.5% by 2010, reported Malaysia Nanban.
He said the meetings focused on guidelines and Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak would make an announcement on the matter soon.
Its commissioner Datuk N. Siva Subramaniam said only children’s birth certificates need to be produced as they had all the necessary information to admit a child in school.
parents whose children had been denied entry into schools to forward their complaints to Suhakam.
> Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s department Datuk S. K. Devamany said MIC and Permodalan Nasional Berhad had held three meetings to discuss raising the equity of Indians to 1.5% by 2010, reported Malaysia Nanban.
He said the meetings focused on guidelines and Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak would make an announcement on the matter soon.
Kah Fai gets a flood of As for his effort
Top PMR student Ho Kah Fai waded in chest-deep floodwaters and waited for four hours at a McDonalds outlet before walking to Penang Free School to sit for his Integrated Living Skills paper last October.
His home at the flood-prone Jalan P. Ramlee was inundated from midnight after heavy rains.
While his family members relocated to the flood centre, 15-year-old Kah Fai made his way to the McDonald’s outlet in Green Lane so he would not be late for his examination the next morning.
“I waited there from 3am staring at my revision books and worrying that I might not be able to do well.
“I feel so thankful that I scored seven As,” he said, adding that he planned to celebrate by watching a movie and having a good meal at Gurney Plaza with his best friend.
Schoolmate S. Tamilkumaran, 15, also scored 7As. He said his father N. Sevabalan had promised to buy him a mobile phone.
Housewife Nisha Kassim, 48, cried with joy when her son Muhammad Firdaus Gullam Rasal, 15, told her he got eight As.
“I feel so proud of him because he had studied hard. His sister and brother are also top-scorers and they have definitely set a good example for him,” she said.
Kah Fai, Tamilkumaran and Muhammad Firdaus were among 84 students with straight As out of 204 candidates who sat for the PMR at the school.
Chung Ling High School prefect Lim Yu Xian, 15, who scored eight As said he had given up all entertainment three months before the PMR and had studied late into the night.
“My dad has promised me RM200 per A scored and I can’t wait to show him my results!” he said, adding that his ambition was to be an architect.
Fellow prefect Teh Jin Yee, 15, who also scored eight As said the study groups and discussions had helped.
Yu Xian and Jin Yee were among 514 PMR candidates from the school, of whom 134 scored eight As and 136 scored seven As.
School principal Chuah Yau Chou said that his school’s performance was better than last year’s with 52.5% scoring eight and seven As.
TS
His home at the flood-prone Jalan P. Ramlee was inundated from midnight after heavy rains.
While his family members relocated to the flood centre, 15-year-old Kah Fai made his way to the McDonald’s outlet in Green Lane so he would not be late for his examination the next morning.
“I waited there from 3am staring at my revision books and worrying that I might not be able to do well.
“I feel so thankful that I scored seven As,” he said, adding that he planned to celebrate by watching a movie and having a good meal at Gurney Plaza with his best friend.
Schoolmate S. Tamilkumaran, 15, also scored 7As. He said his father N. Sevabalan had promised to buy him a mobile phone.
Housewife Nisha Kassim, 48, cried with joy when her son Muhammad Firdaus Gullam Rasal, 15, told her he got eight As.
“I feel so proud of him because he had studied hard. His sister and brother are also top-scorers and they have definitely set a good example for him,” she said.
Kah Fai, Tamilkumaran and Muhammad Firdaus were among 84 students with straight As out of 204 candidates who sat for the PMR at the school.
Chung Ling High School prefect Lim Yu Xian, 15, who scored eight As said he had given up all entertainment three months before the PMR and had studied late into the night.
“My dad has promised me RM200 per A scored and I can’t wait to show him my results!” he said, adding that his ambition was to be an architect.
Fellow prefect Teh Jin Yee, 15, who also scored eight As said the study groups and discussions had helped.
Yu Xian and Jin Yee were among 514 PMR candidates from the school, of whom 134 scored eight As and 136 scored seven As.
School principal Chuah Yau Chou said that his school’s performance was better than last year’s with 52.5% scoring eight and seven As.
TS
Failing sight but great passing marks
Visually impaired student Regina Hoo Lai Kim turned speechless when her teacher told her that she had scored 6As and one B in her PMR examination.
The 15-year-old student who was accompanied by her father Hoo Chiew Chuan, 48, a businessman, and mother Sharmani Jane, a homemaker to collect her results from the St George’s Girls School, said she expected to fail in all her seven subjects.
Regina shows her results to her parents in George Town yesterday.
Regina who got a B in her Geography said she had the determination to succeed but at the same time she was worried about her results due to her poor vision.
“I studied on my own for about four to five hours each day and relied on my friends’ help in Mathematics.
“I also owe my success to my teachers who had made the subjects as interesting as possible and who went out of their way to help me.’’
Regina, who has two other siblings aged 12 and 11, said she preferred to continue her Form Four studies in the Arts stream as her ambition was to be active in the theatre.
Regina’s schoolmate Aliah Amil received the best birthday gift she could have asked for when she scored 8As in her PMR.
Aliah, who turned 15 yesterday, said her parents had promised her a video camera if she did well.
My parents promised to treat me to my favourite pizza for lunch,’’ she said.
The third in a family of five siblings, who aspires to become a lawyer, said both her elder sisters are her role models as they too were straight A scorers.
She said although she did not attend tuition, she was coached by her mother who is a teacher.
“My school teachers also helped me a lot,” Aliah said.
In Johor Baru, another disabled person was a top-scorer.
Low Zhin Mein was born with hearing disabilities but this did not stop her from scoring 7As.
The 16-year-old student from SMK Pasir Gudang 2 received a certificate and a trophy as the state’s top student in the special students category.
Zhin Mein, who has only 20% hearing, said she had to work harder as she was the only disabled person in her class.
“I am very happy,” she said softly in Bahasa Malaysia.
Her parents speak to her in Bahasa Malaysia because that is the language that she uses in school.
Her father Low Piang Woon, 50, said that they used to send her to a primary school for the deaf and mute.
“We also sent her for speech therapy after she had an operation five years ago to enable her to hear,” he said, adding the previously she could not hear anything at all.
Zhin Mein is among 11 special students in the state who received the “Excellent Award”.
TS
The 15-year-old student who was accompanied by her father Hoo Chiew Chuan, 48, a businessman, and mother Sharmani Jane, a homemaker to collect her results from the St George’s Girls School, said she expected to fail in all her seven subjects.
Regina shows her results to her parents in George Town yesterday.
Regina who got a B in her Geography said she had the determination to succeed but at the same time she was worried about her results due to her poor vision.
“I studied on my own for about four to five hours each day and relied on my friends’ help in Mathematics.
“I also owe my success to my teachers who had made the subjects as interesting as possible and who went out of their way to help me.’’
Regina, who has two other siblings aged 12 and 11, said she preferred to continue her Form Four studies in the Arts stream as her ambition was to be active in the theatre.
Regina’s schoolmate Aliah Amil received the best birthday gift she could have asked for when she scored 8As in her PMR.
Aliah, who turned 15 yesterday, said her parents had promised her a video camera if she did well.
My parents promised to treat me to my favourite pizza for lunch,’’ she said.
The third in a family of five siblings, who aspires to become a lawyer, said both her elder sisters are her role models as they too were straight A scorers.
She said although she did not attend tuition, she was coached by her mother who is a teacher.
“My school teachers also helped me a lot,” Aliah said.
In Johor Baru, another disabled person was a top-scorer.
Low Zhin Mein was born with hearing disabilities but this did not stop her from scoring 7As.
The 16-year-old student from SMK Pasir Gudang 2 received a certificate and a trophy as the state’s top student in the special students category.
Zhin Mein, who has only 20% hearing, said she had to work harder as she was the only disabled person in her class.
“I am very happy,” she said softly in Bahasa Malaysia.
Her parents speak to her in Bahasa Malaysia because that is the language that she uses in school.
Her father Low Piang Woon, 50, said that they used to send her to a primary school for the deaf and mute.
“We also sent her for speech therapy after she had an operation five years ago to enable her to hear,” he said, adding the previously she could not hear anything at all.
Zhin Mein is among 11 special students in the state who received the “Excellent Award”.
TS
Majority opted for English when answering Science paper
The percentage of students who answered the Science paper of this year’s Penilaian Menengah Rendah (PMR) entirely in English rose by 138% compared with last year’s figure.
This is the first time ever that a majority of students had answered the paper in English.
This year, 51.2% of candidates chose English, compared with 30.8% who answered in Malay and 18% who used a combination of both languages. Last year, only 21.5% of candidates answered the PMR Science paper wholly in English.
Education director-general Datuk Alimuddin Mohd Dom described the increasing trend of candidates using English as “very encouraging.”
“This year marks the fourth batch of students who took the PMR after studying Mathematics and Science in English from Form One,’’ he said.
He said the final decision on whether the subjects would continue to be taught in English rested with Education Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein.
“We have already decided that the 2009 PMR will remain bilingual,” he said at a press conference to announce the 2008 PMR results.
The subject that showed the biggest improvement in performance was English – the pass rate increased by 3.6% from 71.2% in (2003-2007) to 74.8% this year.
“Students are more comfortable using the language as they have studied Mathematics and Science in English for three years,’’ he said when asked whether the improvement was linked to the policy of teaching both subjects in English.
A total of 26,378 candidates or 5.96% scored straight As in the PMR. Last year the figure was 5.65%, while in 2006 it was 4.83%.
Alimuddin said that at least 15% of candidates scored As in all the 16 subjects offered under the PMR.
“In many subjects, more than 20% of candidates scored As,’’ he said.
The subjects with the most number of A scorers were Punjabi (56.2%), Iban (30%) and Living Skills – Technical (30.1%).
The disparity between the performance of urban and rural students was also narrowing. “Each year we see an improvement in the achievements of rural students,” he said.
An expert from Cambridge International Examinations in Britain, Kate Newcombe sat in on the evaluation process and setting of standards of this year’s PMR.
“She said the standard of our Mathematics and Science paper was higher than Britain’s,’’ said Alimuddin.
This is the first time ever that a majority of students had answered the paper in English.
This year, 51.2% of candidates chose English, compared with 30.8% who answered in Malay and 18% who used a combination of both languages. Last year, only 21.5% of candidates answered the PMR Science paper wholly in English.
Education director-general Datuk Alimuddin Mohd Dom described the increasing trend of candidates using English as “very encouraging.”
“This year marks the fourth batch of students who took the PMR after studying Mathematics and Science in English from Form One,’’ he said.
He said the final decision on whether the subjects would continue to be taught in English rested with Education Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein.
“We have already decided that the 2009 PMR will remain bilingual,” he said at a press conference to announce the 2008 PMR results.
The subject that showed the biggest improvement in performance was English – the pass rate increased by 3.6% from 71.2% in (2003-2007) to 74.8% this year.
“Students are more comfortable using the language as they have studied Mathematics and Science in English for three years,’’ he said when asked whether the improvement was linked to the policy of teaching both subjects in English.
A total of 26,378 candidates or 5.96% scored straight As in the PMR. Last year the figure was 5.65%, while in 2006 it was 4.83%.
Alimuddin said that at least 15% of candidates scored As in all the 16 subjects offered under the PMR.
“In many subjects, more than 20% of candidates scored As,’’ he said.
The subjects with the most number of A scorers were Punjabi (56.2%), Iban (30%) and Living Skills – Technical (30.1%).
The disparity between the performance of urban and rural students was also narrowing. “Each year we see an improvement in the achievements of rural students,” he said.
An expert from Cambridge International Examinations in Britain, Kate Newcombe sat in on the evaluation process and setting of standards of this year’s PMR.
“She said the standard of our Mathematics and Science paper was higher than Britain’s,’’ said Alimuddin.
December 28, 2008
Slowdown hits workers
Some 1,429 workers from 17 factories in Kedah will be temporarily laid off in the wake of the economic slowdown.
Their employers had notified the state labour department of the move, which will take place within the next two months.
Human Resources Minister Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam said the factories would also reduce the number of working days.
He said five other factories had also given notice of the impending retrenchment of 102 workers in the same period.
“Although the numbers are not serious now, we are unable to predict the demand for the workforce after this period.
“We hope the workers who will be temporarily laid off will not be subsequently retrenched,” he said after opening a “Work Ethics for Indian Youths” seminar here.
The event was organised by his ministry and various Indian associations in Kedah.
Dr Subramaniam said the labour department had opened operations centres nationwide to register retrenched workers to assist them in finding alternative employment.
At a later function in Butterworth, Dr Subramaniam said employers should tap the seven million unemployed Malaysians to reduce their dependency on foreign labour.
He said most of them were housewives, single mothers and fresh graduates.
“Many employers are now reluctant to hire them as they are unsure of the benefits they should pay in case their services are no longer required,” he said at the launch of a tele-working workshop at Dewan Haji Ahmad Badawi.
The ministry, he said, was studying whether part-time workers should be paid Socso, EPF and retrenchment benefits and be given annual leave.
He said the Cabinet had approved RM100mil to help re-train retrenched workers and RM70mil to provide skills training for single mothers and unemployed graduates to enable them to find jobs.
He said some 10,000 unemployed graduates and 20,000 retrenched workers were expected to benefit from the funds.
Dr Subramaniam said up to Dec 25, some 29,000 workers had been retrenched, mostly from the electrical and electronics sector.
TS
Their employers had notified the state labour department of the move, which will take place within the next two months.
Human Resources Minister Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam said the factories would also reduce the number of working days.
He said five other factories had also given notice of the impending retrenchment of 102 workers in the same period.
“Although the numbers are not serious now, we are unable to predict the demand for the workforce after this period.
“We hope the workers who will be temporarily laid off will not be subsequently retrenched,” he said after opening a “Work Ethics for Indian Youths” seminar here.
The event was organised by his ministry and various Indian associations in Kedah.
Dr Subramaniam said the labour department had opened operations centres nationwide to register retrenched workers to assist them in finding alternative employment.
At a later function in Butterworth, Dr Subramaniam said employers should tap the seven million unemployed Malaysians to reduce their dependency on foreign labour.
He said most of them were housewives, single mothers and fresh graduates.
“Many employers are now reluctant to hire them as they are unsure of the benefits they should pay in case their services are no longer required,” he said at the launch of a tele-working workshop at Dewan Haji Ahmad Badawi.
The ministry, he said, was studying whether part-time workers should be paid Socso, EPF and retrenchment benefits and be given annual leave.
He said the Cabinet had approved RM100mil to help re-train retrenched workers and RM70mil to provide skills training for single mothers and unemployed graduates to enable them to find jobs.
He said some 10,000 unemployed graduates and 20,000 retrenched workers were expected to benefit from the funds.
Dr Subramaniam said up to Dec 25, some 29,000 workers had been retrenched, mostly from the electrical and electronics sector.
TS
Promotion for education grads
A total 0f 3,169 graduate education officers have been considered for promotions in the Education Ministry’s Graduate Education Officers Service.
Education Ministry secretary-general, Tan Sri Dr Zulkurnain Awang said that of the total, 2,534 were Malays, 445 Chinese, 144 Indians and 46 from the other races.
Education Ministry secretary-general, Tan Sri Dr Zulkurnain Awang said that of the total, 2,534 were Malays, 445 Chinese, 144 Indians and 46 from the other races.
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