Conduct deeper dives into why students are not pursuing tertiary education after SPM

A deeper dive should be conducted into the reasoning why almost half of the SPM students chose not to further their education.

Asian Strategy & Leadership Institute (ASLI) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Danial Rahman said there are a couple of reasons that contributed towards a general trend of students leaving the formal education system.

"Among them are how the pandemic changed the perception of students towards education, including aspect of stress and mental health, as well as the rise of other interesting options post-SPM such as being an influencer or a gig economy worker," said Danial.

However, he added that there are other dimensions at play that could have led to the students opting to not pursue tertiary education.

"For example, the urban-rural divide, family financial challenges, gender and more," said Danial during Astro AWANI's Consider This tonight.

The programme aimed to address the issue of the increasing number of post-SPM students deciding not to continue with tertiary education.

He was joined on the programme by Tunku Abdul Rahman Foundation (YTAR) Chief Executive Officer Ida Thien.

She highlighted the need for students to be supported by career counsellors at schools in order to help navigate their pathways after SPM.

"It is not just about doing a one-off career fair but it is also having that process for the students to think about what they actually want to do and what values do these careers bring to me and my family in the longer term as well as how it can be achieved.

"While that can be supported by the counsellors, Non-governmental Organisations (NGOs) like us can help fill that gap by providing the resources for it, supporting students either through mentorship or connecting them to young professionals and people from the industry that they are interested in," said Ida.

It has been reported that some 180,680 SPM students from the 2021 school session chose not to further their education.

Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek (pic) said this number was based on data from the eProfil Kerjaya Murid (ePKM) system, with the number making up 48.74% of the intake.

Fadhlina added that 115,939 SPM school leavers in 2020 chose not to further their education, comprising of 35.16% of the intake.

She added in Dewan Rakyat that the ministry is carrying out personal development and career education plans in schools to increase students’ awareness towards the importance of education while also equipping them with knowledge, skills and interest for future careers.