SELAYANG: The majority of Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia (STPM) students continue to be from the B40 group, with 89.7% of them coming from poor households. They also happen to form the majority of top scorers.
Of the 1,184 candidates who achieved a cumulative grade point average (CGPA) of 4.0 last year, 1,009 were from the bottom 40% of households (B40). The results were an improvement compared with 2021 when 874 candidates achieved a perfect 4.0.
Those who scored 5As for all five subjects had increased to 38 candidates, of which 26 were from the B40. As for those with 4As, 933 out of 1,158 candidates were from the B40.
Nearly 10% of all candidates had a CGPA of 3.75 and above, 43% had a CGPA of 3.00 and above, 57% had a CGPA of 2.75 and above, and 89.8% had a CGPA of 2.00 and above.
This is an overall improvement compared with 2021, said Malaysian Examinations Council chairman Datuk Dr Mohd Ekhwan Toriman. “With more candidates achieving these CGPAs, it is hoped that there will be no obstacles for them to receive offers to study in public universities,” he said.
He also said the minimum requirement set by the Higher Education Ministry Public Institutions of Higher Learning Enrolment Division for courses for STPM holders is a CGPA 2.00 with a minimum C for three subjects including General Paper.
All 23 subjects offered, he said, saw more than two-thirds of candidates achieving grade C and above – a full pass. A total of 41,701 candidates sat for the exam, of which only 9.6% sat for science stream subjects while the rest were social science candidates.The compulsory General Paper saw the highest number of candidates sitting for a subject.
During the award presentation ceremony to top scorers, Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek said that the outstanding performance of the B40 candidates shows that they are capable of scoring well despite their circumstances.
This also shows that their access to education has never been sidelined, she added.
Fadhlina said that STPM is not just for those who have nowhere to go as it is “a prestigious examination”, adding that it is recognised by overseas institutions and STPM holders have furthered their studies in, among others, Russia, Singapore and the UK.
During the event, Fadhlina presented awards to the 20 top performers in the examination.
Candidates collected their results in schools from noon yesterday while private candidates will receive theirs through the post.
Alternatively, the results can be checked via SMS by typing STPM (space) MyKad number (space) roll number, to 15888 until noon on July 23.
