ALOR SETAR, June 10 — Parents are advised not to be easily influenced by the school rankings based on the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination 2022 results, which have been making rounds on social media since yesterday.

Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek said the Education Ministry (MoE) has never issued a statement or confirmation regarding the rankings.

"MoE has never issued anything official related to that matter. What is projected through the school average grade (GPS) and the State Education Department (JPN) is (a reference) for the school, district and state itself, and it is not for competition.

"It is an indicator used to identify new mechanisms that need to be implemented for future SPM candidates, so the issue of rankings does not arise,” she said in response to the SPM rankings that went viral on social media.

Elaborating, she said the ranking position is not a yardstick for key performance indicators (KPI), but rather it is used for the improvement and progress of a school.

"So, I hope parents are not influenced (unsettled) by the rankings... what is important is to look and focus on their children besides finding an approach to strengthen their learning system,” she said.

Meanwhile, when asked about the issue of SPM leavers who do not wish to pursue their studies at a higher level, Fadhlina said the ministry has always provided guidance and monitors these students through the student tracking system.

"If you look closer, the MoE has consistently taken care of the potential, interests and direction of these students, which is why we provide guidance in careers and counselling at schools from the beginning. Various skill-related tests have also been implemented to gauge their interest and direction.

"In addition, many career carnivals and motivational talks from school alumni are held to foster the interest of these students to continue their studies after completing SPM. It’s just that there are students who don’t want to do so due to personal choice or their family’s... so we need to take into account other external factors that led to this,” she said.

Earlier, Fadhlina officiated the Madani Education Roadshow programme and an up-close meeting with the education minister at a hotel here. — Bernama