Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) Education Leadership and Policy Studies Centre chairman Azlin Norhaini Mansor said there are still gaps that need to be narrowed.

She said there had been numerous challenges although teachers, students and parents were adapting to and accepting PdPR.

Azlin called on the education ministry not to give the impression that it was not affected, and be more willing instead to share the real impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on student learning.

“From the 2020 SPM results, it would seem that the students’ learning was not affected during the pandemic and the ministry managed to address all the problems arising from the situation since last year.

“However, the fine performance is not a sign that there are no weaknesses. Moreover, the SPM 2021 cohort is different and they may require different learning methods.

“So, the ministry must identify the weaknesses that still need to be overcome to assist the SPM 2021 cohort as much as possible,” she told Bernama.

Azlin said that 2021 SPM candidates who will be sitting for the examination in March 2022 are faced with greater challenges because they have had less face-to-face learning at school since Form 4, a situation that is expected to continue for the rest of the year.

She also expressed concern over the students being affected by pandemic fatigue, and urged the ministry to look into this issue to prevent the students’ thinking, health and learning process being drained.