Sharp rise in top STPM scorers after previous year's dip

The Star

5 days ago

Honouring the best: Fadhlina (centre) with Prof Md Amin (second from left) interacting with awardees during the STPM top scorers' award presentation ceremony. — Low Lay Phon/The Star
SELAYANG: The number of candidates scoring a 4.00 cumulative grade point average (CGPA) in the Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia (STPM) 2024 examination has recorded a significant increase, rebounding from the noticeable decline seen the year before.
Overall, 1,266 (3.06%) of the STPM 2024 candidates scored a perfect 4.00 CGPA, the highest in the examination's history. In 2023, the number of 4.00 scorers were 1,116.
The number of candidates who scored 5As in all five subjects also increased from 41 in STPM 2023 to 53 this year.
Meanwhile, those who achieved 4As rose to 1,228 candidates, up from 1,087 in 2023.
About 10.71% of all candidates had a CGPA of 3.75 and above, 44.97% had a CGPA of 3.00 and above, 58.96% had a CGPA of 2.75 and above, and 90.10% had a CGPA of 2.00 and above.
This marked an overall improvement from 2023, said Malaysian Examinations Council (MPM) chairman Prof Datuk Dr Md Amin Md Taff.
'With more candidates achie­ving these CGPAs, it is hoped that there will be no obstacles for them to receive offers to study in public universities,' he said at MPM's office here yesterday.
All 23 subjects offered, he said, saw more than 60% of candidates achieving grade C and above – a full pass.
He added that with the increase in the national CGPA by 0.01 from 2023 to 2.85 this year, and with STPM's internationally recognised standards and quality, he urges more SPM students to consider STPM as their first choice.
A total of 41,434 candidates sat for the examinations for all three STPM 2024 semesters.
During the award presentation ceremony to top scorers, Edu­cation Minister Fadhlina Sidek reaffirmed the government's commitment to making Form Six a top post-SPM choice for students.
'Hopefully, with these better results, along with improved incentives and initiatives, we can continue to enhance the quality of Form Six students in the coming years,' she added.
She also announced the formation of the Form 6 Madani gene­ration representative council under her purview.
'We are streamlining the Form Six council, where all Form Six student associations will operate under its umbrella,' she said.
Fadhlina added that through this effort, the ministry aims to build a Form Six leadership team, particularly to nurture the next generation of national leaders.
'These students will be given the opportunity to be with me and experience the leadership process through an internship programme we call 'Sanggar Bitara',' she said.
She said the students will observe how leadership operates and how policy decisions are made, adding that programmes like this – along with the Form Six council – must be supported to help shape these students into future leaders as part of Malaysia's regeneration programme.
Meanwhile, Fadhlina also said that 300 scholarships are reserved for outstanding STPM graduates pursuing education degrees in public institutions.
She said the ministry is focu­sing its attention on supporting talented and competent individuals who have achieved good STPM results to further their studies in the field of education.
'I hope that STPM graduates will apply and look into this offer to further their studies in the field of education,' she said.
Separately, Fadhlina also stated that the MPM will be implementing a mechanism referred to as 'patching', which enables STPM students to retake selected subjects within the same academic year to improve their grades and university admission prospects.