diploma or form six?

Roziatulakmal Hasan (standing) teaches a class which comprises the only two upper six Science students at SMK Taee, Serian, Sarawak 

Although many consider it as Plan B, students stand to gain from sitting Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia, write SUZIEANA UDA NAGU and SHARIFAH ARFAHTHERE are only two students in the upper six Science class at SMK Taee, Serian, Sarawak.
Kinolly Kilip and Christin Natal William — both 19 years old — are the school’s remaining two Science stream candidates for the Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia (STPM) examination this year.
“The class originally had eight students,” says Phyllina Diana Morison, who teaches the Malaysian University English Test at the school.
The rest had either “left for colleges and universities, secured jobs or dropped out after discovering that they could not cope with the subjects”.
Judging by the national STPM statistics, SMK Taee’s experience is not far removed from that of other schools which offer Form Six as an option.
The number of STPM candidates has consistently been on a downward path — it was at its lowest in 1997 with only 46, 798 students.
Last year, some 50, 576 candidates took the exam.
Although there were 81,142 candidates in 2005, the figure had steadily dropped to 73,691 in 2006; 66,048 in 2007; 58, 048 in 2008 and 52,348 in 2009.
This is in marked contrast to the early 1980s when STPM was the top pre-university programme of choice, as evidenced by the 70,000 students who sat for the examination annually.
Students vied with each other for seats in Form Six and parents encouraged their children to attend the 18-month programme.
Anecdotal evidence suggests that most school-leavers do not even consider Form Six as a choice now. It seems that parents and teachers also dissuade young people from choosing Form Six.

What has changed? Malaysian Examinations Council chairman Professor Tan Sri Dzulkifli Abdul Razak, who announced the 2010 STPM results recently, says “this could be due to the trend towards opting for diploma courses among Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia holders”.

Fresh school-leaver Amir Farid Aminuddin’s decision to apply for a diploma course confirms Dzulkifli’s presumption.
Amir Farid, 18, believes that a diploma course will improve his competitive edge.
“It is mainly the diploma or degree holders who secure jobs at interviews,” says the former Malay College Kuala Kangsar student.
He had weighed up several pre-university programmes including matriculation and Form Six before making his decision.
“A diploma programme is best for me as I do not intend to waste time going through the phases. I want to get a job as soon as possible,” adds Amir Farid, who is also last year’s RHB New Straits Times’ National Spell-It-Right Challenge Perak (secondary) second runner-up.

Read more: PRE-UNIVERSITY: Tough yet the best choice http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/PRE-UNIVERSITY_Toughyetthebestchoice/Article#ixzz1GZOrFWOl
collection of: http://jms-englishonline.blogspot.com/
so what's your choice? sit for the stpm or take the diploma courses?