Up close and personal: Fadhlina (right) meeting up with SPM candidates affected by the floods in Pasir Mas, Kelantan. — Photo courtesy of MOE
Special emotional, academic support for victims in distress
PETALING JAYA: Special counselling and guidance teachers have been mobilised to support displaced Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) candidates, who are currently housed in dormitories due to the floods.
These teams, with an initial 1,580 teachers, are tasked with ensuring the emotional and material needs of these teenagers are met as they prepare for the crucial SPM examinations, which began on Dec 2.
These teachers have volunteered to serve on Smart Support Teams (SST) or Academic Support Teams (AST) within their respective flood-affected states.
Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek, who initiated the move amid backlash and calls for the exams to be postponed, said she was not oblivious to the emotional needs of the exam candidates.
“I too am a mother of school- going children aged between seven and 19. I understand the emotional toll on these teenagers who are sitting for the SPM exams.
“At this point of time, these traumatised students are facing a critical juncture in their lives. They need psychosocial and emotional support.
“The SST and AST comprise voluntary counselling and guidance teachers from the Education Ministry who have a lot of experience.
“They are all trained to emotionally support students affected by disasters,” Fadhlina told The Star.
Floods over the past week wreaked havoc on homes and infrastructure in 10 states nationwide.
Thousands of SPM candidates have had to leave their homes, with some losing everything.
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Under Ops Payung, these candidates are housed in dormitories equipped with, among others, books, Internet access and computers.
Since providing their basic needs after flood waters rose last week, the Education Ministry has now moved on to Phase Two of Ops Payung to address their emotional needs.
The most affected SPM candidates are in Kelantan with 3,111 students, Terengganu (1,734) and Kedah (532).
Kelantan and Kedah will each get 110 SST counsellors while another 90 SST teachers would be in Terengganu.
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“Some 310 SST teachers have been mobilised in Kelantan, Terengganu and Kedah as these are the most hard-hit states with the highest number of SPM candidates as victims,” said Fadhlina.
She said the counsellors can help the SPM candidates manage the stress and trauma with planned interventions at the shelters.
“These activities include art therapy, games, videos, story- telling and motivational talks for the exam candidates,” she said.
Meanwhile the AST teachers will be assisting the exam candidates who lost their books and notes to the flood waters, ensuring they can continue their studies uninterrupted.
“The ministry has also provided millions of ringgit worth of educational materials through various channels, including Yayasan Didik, Kumpulan Wang Amanah Pelajar Miskin, state education departments and the National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma),” said Fadhlina.
Nadma alone had given RM2.9mil to the Education Ministry to repair temporary shelters damaged by the floods. The SST and AST teams will continue to support the candidates throughout the examination period, even after the floodwaters recede.
“There will be trauma in the aftermath and the support will continue so that these SPM candidates can sit for their examinations and do it well,” said Fadhlina.
On Sunday (Dec 1), Fadhlina said candidates at hostels and alternative examination centres were provided with textbooks, access to computer labs and the use of the Digital Educational Learning Initiative Malaysia (DELIMa) platform.
She also announced the ministry will exempt flood-affected candidates from wearing uniforms during the examinations; they can instead opt for any other appropriate attire.
Fadhlina had come under fire from critics who said the SPM should have been postponed as the flood victims would be too traumatised to sit for the exams.
Meanwhile, she said her ministry was mulling over holding future SPM exams outside the northeast monsoon season which tends to cause major floods in the east coast every year.
A total of 402,956 candidates have registered to sit for the SPM 2024 examination.
