THE Education Ministry remains adamant that secondary schools should not be used as polling centres during the Johor state elections next month.

Senior Education Minister Radzi Jidin said using these schools as voting centres will only throw all meticulous preparations done for the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination into disarray. 

He said this batch of SPM candidates are the ones whose lessons were most affected by the Covid-19 epidemic. 

Also taken into account are the tables in examination hall or rooms that have been arranged according to an orderly index, he said, adding that any changes can affect the examination results.

“Almost all the rooms in schools are used for the SPM examination and on the Thursday before polling day, the mathematics examination has been scheduled and this will involve all SPM candidates nationwide, including those in Johor,” he said in a video uploaded on Facebook today.

Radzi said there is also the science paper to consider as it also involves many students and any changes done for the elections will only make rescheduled arrangements more tedious later. 

He said this stance is also taken to allow the ministry to arrange new examination dates for students under quarantine. 

“It will be the same as last year. If students are unable to sit the examination due to quarantine, new dates will be given and that is why the seating arrangements are very important and there should not be any changes,” he said.

He, however, said the ministry has no issues if primary schools are to be used as polling centres.

Yesterday, Radzi said the ministry has sent an official letter to the Election Commission requesting it not to use secondary schools as polling centres in the Johor elections to ensure the smooth running of the SPM examination from March 2-29. – Bernama, February 13, 2022.