Jame (left) presenting a souvenir to Abd Ghafar.
KOTA KINABALU: The Ministry of Education will set up a special task force to conduct immediate investigation into the alleged leak of Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) and Ujian Penilaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) examination papers.
Director General of Education Abd Ghafar Mahmud said the ministry took the matter very seriously and will be getting to the bottom of the situation as soon as possible.
“If there is any complaint or information on a possible leak, we will investigate it. Of course, the immediate response is to set up a special task force to look into the claims,” he said to reporters when asked to comment on reports yesterday that some SPM and UPSR papers were leaked and distributed before the exam.
Just hours before Ghafar gave the assurance that a probe into the allegations will be conducted, three individuals came forward claiming that the questions for the Mathematics and Additional Mathematics subjects in the SPM examination this year were leaked questions.
The three – Mohd Husaini Jaslee, Nor Izwan Abu Bakar and Mohd Rizuan Abd Rashid – also distributed copies of the alleged leaked questions to reporters attending their press conference at the Malaysian Muslim Consumers Association (PPIM) office in Kuala Lumpur.
Ghafar, when met at the School Improvement Specialist Coaches Plus (SISC+) here yesterday, said there were similar allegations on leaked SPM examination papers in the late 90’s but investigation later revealed they were false claims.
Furthermore, he said that the ministry complied with strict procedures for the printing and transportation of examination papers, to ensure no papers or certain questions were leaked.
Ghafar added that the SPM papers were printed overseas at Cambridge United Kingdom (UK) while UPSR papers were printed locally.
“The SPM papers were transported to Lembah Klang with a police escort. We follow a strict procedure. However, we will still investigate the claims,” he said.
Meanwhile, State Education Director Datuk Jame Alip informed that Sabah has been chosen for the implementation of the pilot District Transformation Programme (DTP), together with Kedah.
As part of the long term National Education Master Plan, he said the DTP’s emphasis is on enhancing the role of education offices at the ditrict level in promoting education excellence.
Apart from the DTP, Jame explained that the district office will also utilise the SISC+ and another programme, known as the SIPartner+, to improve academic achievement among students.
Following the success in Sabah and Kedah, he said the DTP will be expanded to other states starting next year.
“The programme has shown positive impact in Sabah, evident in the improved UPSR results,” Jame said.
Sabah’s UPSR average grade increased to 2.76 this year, compared to 2.83 in 2012.
The number of students who scored 5As and 7As also increased to 1,197.