10/30/23, 4:56 PM 72.

1% Of Malaysians Do Not Want To Further Their Studies After SPM

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72.1% Of Malaysians Do Not Want To Further Their Studies After
SPM
Oct 19, 2022, 10:00 AM
Government statistics have found that 72.1% of Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) graduates
do not want to continue their studies after secondary school.
Title : 72.1% Of Malaysians Do Not Want To Further Their Studies After SPM
Source : SAYS
External URL : https://says.com/my/news/survey-malaysians-do-not-want-to-further-
studies-after-spm
According to Utusan Malaysia, a report by the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM)
in 2019 showed that 390,000 out of 560,000 SPM candidates were interested in joining
the workforce immediately after the exam, while only 170,000 students were interested
in continuing their studies.

The Malay daily reported that the three main factors behind why those aged 17 and 18
did not want to continue their studies were:
- The availability of job opportunities in the gig economy,
- Interest in becoming influencers on social media, and
- Believing that furthering their studies do not guarantee better jobs.

The survey on the country's labour force was compiled by the Malaysian Productivity
Corporation (MPC) as the official partner for the World Economic Forum's 2019 Global
Competitiveness Report

MPC's development, productivity, and competitiveness division director Mohamad

Muzaffar Abdul Hamid said the survey involved respondents aged 15 to 64 to find out
the educational achievements and performance of the Malaysian public.

Speaking to Berita Harian, he said the findings were worrying and that he fears the high
percentage of students that were not interested in furthering their studies after SPM will
have an impact on the country's productivity, especially when job opportunities are not
filled by local youth.

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Besides that, the survey also found that a worrying 5.8% of Malaysians have never
attended or completed school

"We believe that this group of people who do not go to school consists of individuals
from poor families, the Orang Asli community, and in Sabah and Sarawak," he told Berita
Harian.

According to The Star, poverty, loss of interest, and the system's focus on exams are the
main reasons for students dropping out of school.

It is also reported that some children felt alienated by the content of the curriculum or
failed to see the purpose of schooling, while some parents were just not concerned
about their children's education.

Mohamad Muzzafar added that, as a result in the future, many low-skill workers in the
workforce will cause a decrease in the nation's productivity, innovation, and
competitiveness.

"This will cause difficulties in creating new job opportunities and will have an impact on
low-wage workers," he said. "Compared to a highly skilled workforce, it will offer higher
wages while boosting productivity and innovation."

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