Johor preps for SPM ahead of floods, to ensure no disruption to exams

ISKANDAR PUTERI: Early preparations have been made to ensure that Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) continues to run smoothly statewide in the event of floods, says Johor executive councillor Aznan Tamin.

The Johor education and information committee chairman said a total of 669 schools, including over 500 primary schools, have been identified as temporary flood relief centres throughout Johor.

“We hope that the Welfare Department and district disaster management committees will prioritise using primary schools as relief centres instead of secondary schools.

“This is to avoid disrupting the SPM examination, which will run between next month and February next year.

“However, we understand that there is no way for us to stop floods from happening and have made the necessary preparations to ensure that the examination runs smoothly despite being hit by floods,” he said.

He said this at a press conference on the sidelines of the Johor state assembly at Kota Iskandar on Thursday (Nov 28).

Aznan added that preparations have also been made to ensure that SPM candidates can take the exam even if they are affected by the floods.

“The state education department has held a special disaster management meeting where we also discussed and coordinated transportation for the students.

“The Mentri Besar requested this preparation and coordination to be done earlier. So, we are fully prepared and have standard operating procedures (SOPs) in case of floods,” he said.

He said that he also hoped other government agencies also prepared and could back up the Civil Defence Force in transporting SPM candidates to examination halls if needed.