Fadhlina said the SPM written examination, which started today and will go on until Feb 6, involved 402,956 students at 3,337 examination centres nationwide.

“This is a good attendance rate and we are still in the process of updating the figure. We have yet to confirm the attendance of around 10,000 more candidates,” she told a press conference at the ministry here today.

Fadhlina said 44,968 education officers and 5,780 volunteers, including retired teachers, have been assigned to facilitate the examination process.

“Everything is under control and the examination is going smoothly,” she said.

She added that in Negeri Sembilan, two students, aged 63, were taking the examination.

She said the ministry is ready to facilitate students in any situation, particularly floods, when sitting for the exams.

Last month, education director-general Azman Adnan said there was no need to postpone the SPM and Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia (STPM) examinations because the education ministry had a comprehensive mechanism to address the issue of students affected by floods during the current northeast monsoon season.