THE excuse given by the Examination Board for the delay in the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia’s (SPM) Chemistry Paper 3 on Thursday is a weak one.
SPM candidates said it was hard to accept that the delay was due to a shortage of question papers as the board had months to prepare.
Annisa Batrisyia Abdul Rashid from Sarawak said it was unthinkable for such a thing to happen.
“The papers were prepared and printed in advance as they are slated for nationwide distribution.
“The justification just showed the board’s professionalism level.”
Annisa, who studies at Kolej Datu Patinggi Abang Haji Abdillah in Kuching, said the delay had affected candidates and their parents.
“The delay took one hour. During that time, we were quarantined in the exam hall.
“We were not allowed to communicate or notify our parents that we will be late.
“Some parents waited outside the school compound, not knowing what was going on.
“It inconvenienced those who had to clock in for work again after 3pm.”
Another candidate, Shoandeep Radhakrishnan, from Kedah sensed something was not right when he saw invigilators moving in and out of the examination hall.
“When I entered the exam hall at 1.45pm, I noticed the question papers had yet to be fully distributed.
“Only one or two students received two sets of question paper, which was quite strange.”
He said students were instructed to wait.
Those who had received their papers were told not to open them.
“It was a waiting game that went on for 30 minutes.
“The situation was tense and chaotic as invigilators had to get the question papers from another school.
“We were supposed to sit the exam from 2pm to 3.30pm. Instead, it started at 2.30pm.”
He said other schools started the exam paper much later.
He said candidates were quite stressed as they had sat for two papers prior to the incident.
“The question papers were prepared before or during the SPM trial period.
“There was enough time to prepare them, especially for Chemistry as the exam date for the paper is during the second last week of SPM.
“It would be understandable if it happened only at one school. But many other schools faced the same issue.”
National Union of Teaching Profession secretary-general Harry Tan Huat Hock said the technical glitch was an unfortunate thing.
“There were no such issues during my years of being an exam invigilator, but anything is possible.
“There is a standard operating procedure for such cases.
“I believe the invigilators had done a good job in solving the problem immediately. I don’t blame anyone.”
On Thursday, there was a shortage of question papers for Chemistry Paper 3, causing a delay in the exam.
The delay caused affected schools to start the examination later, which ended close to 5pm.