JOHOR BARU, Jan 12 — A total of 55,520 Form Five and Form Six students who will sit for the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) and Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia (STPM) examinations will begin the school session on January 20 in Johor, said State Education, Information, Heritage and Culture Committee chairman Mazlan Bujang. 

He said that out of the total, 49,475 are 2020 and 2021 SPM candidates, while 4,857 are STPM candidates and the remainder 1,188 are Sijil Tinggi Agama Malaysia (STAM) candidates. 

“Only students who will sit for the SPM, STPM and STAM examinations this year are allowed to start the school session for the first stage following the start of the movement control order (MCO), which is enforced in Johor. 

“However, any new decision will be announced by the federal government if there are any changes,” said Mazlan during a press conference after the Covid-19 Assistance Programme for Taxi Operators and Drivers at the Johor Heritage Foundation Complex here today. 

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Present at the event was Johor Baru City Council (MBJB) Foundation executive chairman Juraidah Hassan. 

Mazlan said Johor, as well as other states that are also under the MCO, will follow the instructions or any decision from the Education Ministry regarding the opening of the school sessions. 

He added that other students will start their school session according to the instructions by the Education Ministry and is dependent on the current situation involving the Covid-19 pandemic as well as floods. 

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“In Johor, there is a total of 1,189 schools with 575,144 students, 48,944 teachers and 7,122 education support civil servants,” said Mazlan, who is also the Puteri Wangsa assemblyman.

 For schools that are used as temporary evacuation centres housing flood victims in the districts affected by the floods, Mazlan said he was confident that once the school session starts the floods would have subsided. 

However, he said in the event there is still flooding during the school session, the Johor Education Department has emergency plans to ensure that the school session carries on uninterrupted. 

“We have our plans and have made preparations. Floods usually happen in a week or two and this is a normal occurrence every year. 

“What we are worried about is the Covid-19 pandemic because we do not know when it will end,” Mazlan said. 

Earlier this morning, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah consented to the state of Emergency in the country until August 1, or until the current wave of Covid-19 subsides. 

Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin yesterday announced the second bout of MCO in several states, including Johor, citing the national healthcare system which is near breaking point. 

Malaysia yesterday recorded 2,232 new Covid-19 infections with 28,554 active cases.