This constituted 3.8% of the 388,832 candidates who had registered to sit for the SPM examination.

According to the ministry, this number was much higher than the 10,681 absentees during the previous examination in 2021.

Education minister Fadhlina Sidek said the study will enable the ministry to introduce appropriate intervention measures to ensure better student attendance in future SPM examinations.

“I think there must have been many factors, some of which must be urgent, to the extent that the students had to miss the examination.

“So, the matter needs to be examined but this will require time.

“We will make appropriate interventions,” Bernama reported her as saying after visiting Sekolah Menengah Jenis Kebangsaan (SMKJ) Keat Hwa here today.

Fadhlina said whether the matter is of concern or not depends on the findings of the study, adding that the absent students included private candidates and those from public schools.

Meanwhile, Fadhlina said more than 90% of the candidates who sat for the SPM last year obtained their certificate, compared to only 80% the previous year.

The focus of the ministry is to further increase the percentage of candidates who obtain the certificate, she added.