A WEEK from now, the 2020 Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) candidates will be sitting for their examination, making them the first batch in Malaysia to be doing so in an era of the Covid-19 pandemic. It is indeed an unprecedented situation for the students because it would actually be the first time we have a situation where both the students and examiners would need to observe the new normal by wearing masks, face shields and – who knows – maybe even personal protective equipment in some circumstances.

One would understand how uncomfortable it is to wear masks or face shields for a certain period of time. It would feel as though you are being suffocated and imagine being uncomfortable while taking an exam because we can imagine it being absolutely uncomfortable.

None of us or even myself faced this sort of challenge before because we were mostly in school all year long and we had direct physical guidance from our teachers. Some of us even had after-school physical tuitions classes just in case we did not pay attention in class. But things are a lot different for this batch as they only attended school physically for about eight months before totally relying on online classes.

Let’s be frank. Attending online classes is not easy at all as our attention span, even during online working meetings, are normally limited. Hence, we shouldn’t expect students to be able to focus and learn for hours.

In addition to the different learning methods that this batch had to go through, it is also important to look at how these students might have been impacted in terms of their character and identity. A student who is normally talkative, expressive and outgoing in class, might have had a change in character due to the long period of being home attending online classes. There is no need or space to be expressive anymore because it feels different being active and outgoing virtually. This would lead in the change of character of the student.

What about those active in the extracurricular activities? A student who might have been active in choral speaking, debate or even sports might have found it hard to cope being at home because these activities are now held virtually, which is very different to having it physically.

It is clear it has been an extraordinary experience for 2020 SPM candidates and they need all the help they can get especially in terms of leniency. All forms of leniency should be considered by the examiners during their examination. Among the leniencies I am talking about is the the leeway for students to take off their masks or face shields for a bit if they feel uncomfortable, providing them with a little extra time than normal to complete their examination paper or even being lenient in grading their answers later on.

Besides teachers and examiners, parents should also understand that SPM is not the end of a journey but it’s just the beginning of a new journey for their children. Pressuring them continuously and expecting to have tremendous results in a year where the pandemic has hit us all hard is indeed not fair. Students  should just be encouraged to do their best regardless of their results and performance. Pat them on the back because they have successfully overcome the many difficulties caused by the pandemic, where even us as adults have found it difficult at times.

It is important that teachers, examiners and parents understand it has been tough for all the students, hence showing them a little kindness, appreciation and leniency will go a long way.

To all 2020 SPM candidates, good luck for your exams and know that the whole country is rooting for you! – February 14, 2021.

* Aaron Denison is a member of a civil society group called Demokrat Kebangsaan.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.