KUCHING: The date for announcing the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) results on May 27 is less suitable.
President of Sarawak Teachers’ Union (STU), Kullin Djayang said the date is less suitable because the date falls on the Monday of the first week of the school holidays.
“The Ministry of Education (MoE) should be aware that some secondary schools are located in locations that are quite far such as in the districts of Kapit, Song, Baram, Limbang and Marudi.
“Most of the teachers working at the school have already started their journey back to their respective villages from May 24 and May 25, 2024.
”Many may have already bought plane tickets or rented vehicles. We think it will give the school some difficulty in managing all the SPM result slips and also the form 5 students’ certificates on that day,” he said in a statement on Thursday (May 9).
In addition, Kullin requested the Ministry of Education not to use the holiday because it is short, which is only about 11 days.
“For the Dayaks in Sarawak, teachers will usually return home with their families to celebrate Gawai Day which falls on June 1, 2024.
“There are few families who will take one or two days and some even take up to three days to travel back because the school is located far away from their hometown,” he said.
Therefore, the Union also urged the MoE not to disturb the short term holiday for teachers and students, and wants the date to be brought forward to May 23, 2024 or extended to the school week in June.
“After all, this holiday is also the main festival holiday for the Dayak tribes in Sarawak and for the residents of Sabah, Kaamatan Festival will start earlier, on May 30 and 31, 2024.
“We apologise to MoE for such inconvenience, because this year’s semester holidays are very short compared to before,” he added.
