On Monday (Nov 3), thousands of students across Malaysia began their Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) 2025 examination, which is the most important major papers for them if they wish to further their studies or find a job.
According to The Star, a total of 413,372 candidates at 3,350 examination centres nationwide will be sitting for SPM, with the Bahasa Melayu Oral Test kicking things off.
It will then be followed by the the English Language Oral Test from Nov 10 to 13, with the listening test taking place on Nov 20 alongside the BM listening test.
As for the Science subject, the practical test will take place from Nov 17 to 19, while the written test will run from Nov 25 to Dec 23.
However, this year’s SPM is uniquely different from past iterations due to the fact that none of the candidates have ever taken two major papers prior to it —Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) and Pentaksiran Tingkatan 3 (PT3).
How it came to be
In 2020, UPSR was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic and was subsequently abolished the next year.
As for PT3, formerly known as Penilaian Menengah Rendah (PMR), was cancelled in 2021 before following a similar path in 2022 in order to reduce exam stress for students and promote a more holistic, school-based assessment system.
Both papers’ abolishment occurred during Datuk Dr Radzi Jidin’s tenure as Education Minister.
However, the move was heavily criticised, with an academic saying the move was done haphazardly and a “mistake”.
A teacher also echoed similar sentiments, saying the removal of UPSR and PT3 had severely weakened students’ ability in doing basic arithmetic:
