PETALING JAYA- SPM students, teachers and parents were in for a shock when the moral studies format was changed at the last-minute and without prior notice.
Many who sat for the paper this morning took to social networking site Facebook to express their unhappiness.
One male student said that the format was changed at the last minute because “the candidates are non-Malays”.
Asked to elaborate, he said the questions were markedly different unlike previous years. The least the Education Ministry could have done, he added, was to inform the students beforehand.
Another said that the format was changed without the knowledge of teachers and students.
“We didn’t know how to answer and what exactly was to be answered in the essay section. So, most of were left clueless,” she said.
Moral studies is a required subject for non-Muslim students while Muslim students are required to take the Islamic studies.
Moral appreciation aside, the subject is considered as an easy one to pass and also to score an extra A.
Another student said that in the past two years, students were told that they only needed to memorise the 36 moral values and answer accordingly during the exam.
The 36 values are divided and categorised into seven major fields – self-development, family, nature, patriotism, human rights, democracy and peace and harmony.
Thus, the change in format without prior notice has baffled students and teachers.
“This time the questions were not clear and we were required to answer in a critical manner. I’m just surprised it was changed without proper notice,” she said.
Meanwhile Pandan MP Rafizi Ramli when met at Parliament said the problem was symptomatic of the fragile race relations in the country.
“People do not trust the system and the government. The majority have long felt that the subject (Moral studies) only serves to penalize them (non-Malays).
“There is a need to re-look at the education system because it only serves to further divide the society,” he said.
Kapar MP G Manivannan took Education Minister Muhyiddin Yassin and his deputy P Kamalanathan to task for the Moral Studies issue, saying students shoould have been notified earlier on the changes.
“Why can’t the ministry notify all the relevant parties on time? What are they trying to achieve? In the parliament, Kamalanathan gives good answers in theory but he can’t even resolve this problem.
“The ministry be lenient in the passing mark and penalise those responsible for causing the problem,” he added.
When contacted, National Union of Teaching Profession secretary general Lok Yim Pheng was shocked when she was informed about the last minute changes on the Moral Studies exam.
She said that NUTP has yet to be informed and she was not sure how the changes happened.
“That is why exam papers has to be prepared professionally.
Last minute changes should have not occurred in the first place.
“However, I am not sure how it happen. I will check and inform you,” said Lok.
Despite several attempts, Deputy Education Minister P Kamalanathan could not be reached for comments.
By Alyaa Azhar and G Vinod
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