MIC vice-president Dr S Subramaniam said he was not agreeable to the suggestion by the Education Ministry that schools conduct their own vernacular examinations for students who were unable to sit for it at Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) level.

dr s subramaniam interview 210308 05The Human Resources Minister said Education Ministry officials had discussed the suggestion with him previously but he had flatly rejected the idea then.

"We discussed the suggestion at length and found that it was not agreeable," he said in a statement today.

Subramaniam was responding to the suggestion by the Director-General of Education Alimuddin Mohd Dom earlier today.

Alimuddin had said with schools conducting their own vernacular examinations, the teachers could gauge the ability of the students concerned and issue certificates based on their efficiency and proficiency in vernacular languages.

Subramaniam said the Indian community wanted Tamil Language and Tamil Literature to be part of the SPM as has been practiced before.

To bring it up in cabinet

The minister reiterated that he would raise the matter in the cabinet and would also discuss it further with Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin who is also the Education Minister.

Muhyiddin announced recently that starting next year, SPM students would only be allowed to take a maximum of 10 subjects and in line with the decision, there would also be changes in the grading system.

The government's move had irked the Indian community who wanted students to be allowed to take the Tamil Language and Tamil Literature as well.

The suggestion for schools to conduct their own vernacular examinations comes a day after Subramaniam chaired a meeting with some 20 Indian non-governmental organisations who demanded that the two subjects (Tamil Language and Tamil Literature) be included in the SPM.

- Bernama