Mah: SPM paper leak claim will be probed
SERDANG: The Education Ministry will investigate if there is a leak in public examinations, says Datuk Dr Mah Hang Soon.
The Deputy Education Minister said he had read media reports that questions for the SPM History Paper 2 were leaked but was unsure if the ministry received any complaints about the matter.
“If there is more information, I will let the public know,’’ he said.
Last week, The Star reported that the list of topics to be tested in that exam paper had been leaked.
A video claiming to show leaked questions went viral after the exam for the subject was held on Feb 24.
Dr Mah also said parents and schools should embrace and accept children who need special education, especially the Chinese community who may have a weak awareness of the issue.
The situation was more serious among parents of Chinese primary school pupils, compared to national primary schools, he said.
“Some schools are uncomfortable or are not ready to accept special needs pupils because they are worried that the academic performance of these pupils will affect the school’s overall performance.
“Regardless of whether the child’s condition is mild, once special education is needed, they should be allowed to enter the special education stream,” he said after inspecting the special needs classes at SJK (C) Kung Man here yesterday.
He added that 106 Chinese primary schools have special education classes, involving 388 teachers and 1,942 pupils. Acknowledging that there was a shortage of special education teachers, he said the ministry was working hard to train more teachers to meet the demand.
Ideally, there should be seven pupils or fewer in each special needs class, he said.
When asked whether the ministry would continue to promote the “zero reject policy”, Dr Mah said it had always upheld the spirit of “zero rejection of students” but the previous administration had repackaged this policy.
“The government will not deny schooling to our children. The most important thing is how to ensure that they receive the most appropriate education,” he said.