JOHOR BARU: It's that time of the year when thousands of students, with furrowed brows and focused gazes, apply themselves over a period of two to three weeks to the task of getting paper qualifications that should set them up for life.
In just a few days, around half a million students in the country will sit for examinations that will help determine their future.
Some 40,000 among this set will sit for the Sijil Tinggi Peperiksaan Malaysia (STPM), a critical hurdle which will shape their choice of a future career.
In Johor alone, 50,619 Form Five students from private and government schools are expected to sit for the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) and 5,209 students will take the STPM, according to statistics from the Johor State Education Department.
When interviewed, several students pronounced themselves prepared to face their moment of truth.
If need be, they said they could even sit for their papers tomorrow – such is their level of preparedness.
An example of this is Mercy Lim Yi Sin, 17, a student of SMK I.J. Convent, who said: “Our teachers have already completed the syllabus and we are now in revision mode.”
She emphasised that time is of the essence.
“I can't afford to relax. Every minute is precious.
“Now is the time for general revision and a recap, with one final look at our revision notes.”
Mercy is not taking chances, which means she is resisting the temptation of guessing which topics she will be tested on, and not focussing on one area of study over another.
She has done an exhaustive revision.
“I know I have prepared well and done my revision. My teachers have also given me their best. Hence I have no qualms about entering the examination hall.”
She said that these days, her teachers display the quiet satisfaction that comes from having prepared their students well; while parents, sporting anxious looks and frowns, try hard to prevent their tension from impacting the state of mind of their children.
Education is a high priority among the vast majority of Malaysian parents and examination time heightens their worry about their children's future.
Mercy’s classmate, Imanina Kamarul Shahriman, also 17, spoke of her way of coping in the lead-up to examination-time.
She said the way a student studies and the way he or she manages his or her time will affect their preparedness.
“Doing well in that exam is the dream of every student. Besides, students in this situation believe that they are competing with their classmates and this heightens the pressure.”
She agrees that some students have taken to revising with the aid of the Internet. They visit websites mentioned in the workbooks. To them, the Internet helps make it easier to grasp a topic.
She said students also attend motivational talks organised by their school, the state Education Department and private bodies or individual tutors.
Like Mercy, Imanina doesn’t believe in the guessing game many students engage in as final preparation.
She said there are also instances of spot questions being circulated via SMS and WhatsApp.
Not mincing her words, she said some students would go to the extent of collating past years’ papers and determining if questions have been repeated or have yet to appear.
She said as the SPM and STPM draw closer, parents bar their children from going outdoors, fearing distractions and the possibility of their children contracting illnesses. End-of-year public examinations in Malaysia coincide with the rainy season, when influenza and other health threats such as dengue fever are known to be rife.
This year, worries on the latter have increased following the recent announcement by the Health Minister that the incidence of dengue fever this year has increased by 77 per cent.
“There is nothing left to do except to keep calm, believe in oneself and pray. Prayer can help you to focus, give you confidence that a higher power is there to see you through,” said Imanina.
Sixth Former Amin Izwan Farid Ridzwan Wong, 19, who will be sitting for STPM, is waiting anxiously for his first paper.
He said his preparations are focused on revisions with classmates. This collaboration helps him to be aware of his weak points and to do eleventh-hour swotting.
He agreed that examinations and the preparation for them can be nerve-wracking and could bring anxiety attacks.
“For me, now is the time to brush up on difficult terms, significant dates, hard-to-remember names and complex formulas. I’m sure being part of a study group could (help me achieve this),” he said.
Amin said most students are feeling the pressure at this time due to their own and their parents' expectations, in addition to that of teachers’.
In this context, the following advice of one teacher is sensible: “Too much adrenaline caused by over-anxiety during the exam period can have the opposite effect. So the key is to keep your exam anxiety at an optimal level.”
Of course, this begs the question – what is the optimal level of exam anxiety?
Well, that requires a whole lot of clinical studies – so that is one area best left for another article.