They say the lack of updates from the education ministry is leaving them in a post-secondary-school limbo.
These students were supposed to have sat for their SPM exam last year, but the Covid-19 pandemic caused a three-month delay.
One of them, student activist Nurul Rifayah of Selangor, said it had been difficult for her batch to plan for tertiary education without an estimate of when the results would be released.
“The next intake for some universities abroad is in July,” she said. “Some of my peers have applied to these universities using their forecast results, but in order for them to officially accept offers, they will need their actual results.”
Some private universities do accept SPM trial marks, but Nurul noted that several schools had cancelled trial exams after studies were disrupted by last October’s conditional movement control order (CMCO).
“For these affected students, the only forecast results they can provide are from their Form Four exams. It is extremely difficult for them,” she said.
SPM candidates in previous years could expect an official announcement of the results in March.
The 2020 exam was postponed twice before it was finally held in February. The second round, arranged for candidates who tested positive for Covid-19 or were under quarantine, concluded only last Friday.
In Kedah, Mohamad Yusuf Luqman said he and his friends had originally planned to work part-time while waiting for their results.
“But the situation is a bit unpredictable right now. If we know when to expect our results, we’ll be able to inform the employers how many months we can work,” he said.
He said students were asking the education ministry to give only an approximate date.
“People need to understand we are not demanding for our papers to be marked faster and we are not asking for a specific date.”
Yusuf said he had heard rumours that results would be released only in July or August.
According to Justin Cheng Tye Wai of Ipoh, many employers require students to present their school leaving certificate when applying for work.
“This is impossible. The current requirement for getting the certificate is a pass in the exam.
“I cannot look for any part-time or full-time job because of this,” he said.
He said he feared the recent surge in Covid-19 cases could lengthen the ministry’s delay in announcing the results.