D-G clarifies 10+2

Tuesday December 8, 2009

By KAREN CHAPMAN

PETALING JAYA: Chinese Language, Chinese Literature, Tamil Language, Tamil Literature and Arabic will count towards the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) final grade if they fall within the maximum 10 subjects that can be taken by students in the examination.

Education director-general Tan Sri Alimuddin Mohd Dom said this could be done if certain elective subjects were dropped.

“As an example, students who want to study medicine have to take Mathematics, Biology and Chemistry but can drop Physics while those who opt for engineering can drop Biology,” he said.

When contacted by The Star, Alimuddin added that students could then choose to replace these subjects with the Chinese, Tamil and Arabic languages or Chinese and Tamil literature options.

It is only when students have already chosen their maximum of 10 subjects for the SPM and want to take an additional two – which must be either Chinese, Tamil or Arabic Language, and Chinese or Tamil Literature – that the results of these two subjects would be listed on the SPM certificate but would not count towards the final grade.

“The grades for these additional subjects would be listed as A to E and will not be evaluated according to the new grading system being implemented for the SPM from this year,” he said.

Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin announced last week that students sitting for the SPM could take two additional subjects but the results would only be based on 10 subjects.

He had said in June that students would be allowed to take a maximum of 10 subjects (the six core subjects in the SPM are Bahasa Melayu, English, Islamic Education or Moral Studies, History, Mathematics and Science and electives making it 10 in total) in the SPM from 2010.

Muhyiddin, who is Education Minister, said the about-turn was decided by the Cabinet following requests by certain quarters that the ministry allow students to sign up for 12 subjects.

Elaborating further, Alimuddin said the 10+2 formula applied to students in all streams.

“The additional subjects will only be taken into consideration by the Government for its scholarship programme if they fall within the 10 subject maximum and if students want to use the results for entry to teacher training to become language teachers in either Chinese, Tamil or Arabic,” he said.

Alimuddin said students could also use the results for these additional subjects for entry into Tamil, Chinese or Arabic degree programmes in public universities.

“Those in the joint science and religious stream can also take an additional subject, which is Arabic,” he said.