Gap between SPM results of rural and urban school needs attention

KUCHING: Although in general, the 2014 Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) candidates in Sarawak fared well, the gap between those in the rural and urban schools in achieving the minimum Grade E showed a negative trend.

Sarawak State Education Department Director Serina Sauni said the gap was widening in English Language and History subjects.

She said in 2013, the gap for English Language was 8.98% but in 2014, it was 12.05%.

"Similarly, the gap for History was 0.35 % in 2013 but grew to 2.03% in 2014," she said when announcing the 2014 SPM results for Sarawak candidates here today.

However, she said there was no change in the gap between urban and rural candidates in achieving the minimum Grade E in Mathematics, Science and Moral Education.
However, Serina said, she was generally proud of the performance shown by Sarawak candidates in the 2014 SPM, describing it as encouraging with 15 candidates getting excellent results with grade A+ in all subjects, including two who obtained 11A+, 10 with 10A+ and three had 9A+ in all subjects.

There were 694 candidates who obtained at least a grade A- in all subjects.

Serina also said she was happy that the Sarawak candidates obtained results in 38 subjects which exceeded or were at least on par with the national results.

"Most of the schools in Sarawak can be said to be in the excellent, good and satisfactory categories," she said.

"Only a small number (three schools or 1.68%) attained the potential achievement," she said.

According to her, this showed the positive impact of the New Deals programme of the Education Ministry in the effort to improve the academic performance of schools. – Bernama