PUTRAJAYA: The performance of the 2017 Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia (STPM) examination candidates, in general, was better than 2016, the Malaysian Examinations Council (MEC) said Tuesday.
Its chairman Professor Datuk Seri Dr Mohamed Mustafa Ishak said this was reflective in the national Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) which has increased from 2.71 to 2.76.
He said the 2017 STPM performance was the best since the modular was introduced in 2013.
"In last year's STPM, 72.03 per cent of total candidates scored a full pass in four or five subjects compared to 71.8 per cent in 2016.
"Students who scored a CGPA of 3.5 and above have increased by 0.69 per cent from 6,137 to 6,408 candidates, while those with a CGPA of 3.0 and above recorded an increase by 2.86 per cent from 16,263 to 17,423 candidates.
"The same increase was also recorded for those who scored 2.75 and above, from 22,407 candidates in 2016 to 23,752 candidates in 2017," he said during the 2017 STPM results announcement.
Mustafa said the students who scored a CGPA of 4.0, however, had slightly decreased by 0.18 per cent from 565 candidates in 2016 to 485 candidates in 2017.
He said the percentage of candidates scoring 5As and 4As has dropped slightly by 0.12 per cent from 575 candidates in 2016 to 521 in 2017.
"A total of 19 candidates scored five As nationwide, compared to 11 candidates in 2016.
"Candidates who took five subjects but scored four As have increased from 47 in 2016 to 68 in 2017," he said.
Last year's STPM examinations recorded 37,471 candidates from Social Science field and 5,571 from Science field.
From this number, a total of 375 Social Science students and 110 Science students obtained a CGPA of 4.0.
A total of 43,042 candidates sat for the 2017 examinations.
Mustafa also announced the top 10 schools based on the STPM results.
They included Kolej Islam Sultan Alam Shah, Klang; SMK Tengku Panglima Raja, Kelantan; SMK Hua Lian, Perak; SMKA Sheikh Hj Mohd Said, Negri Sembilan; and SMK Sacred Heart, Sarawak.
The STPM results were released nationwide at 12pm.