Resit for UPSR English paper on September 30

Year Six pupils will resit their UPSR English papers 1 and 2 (codes 014/1 and 014/2) on September 30, the same date as the Science paper which was postponed yesterday, the Education Ministry announced.

Earlier today, Education Minister II Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh revealed that the Examinations Board had discovered that the English papers had been leaked this morning and announced that pupils would have to retake the test on another date.

Although the ministry had known about the leak this morning, Year 6 pupils went on to sit for their English papers 1 and 2 today.

In a statement today, the Examinations Syndicate announced that the English papers (014/1 and 014/2) had to be cancelled after leaks were discovered. The statement also announced that Year 6 pupils would have to retake the papers on September 30.

This follows the postponement of UPSR Science papers, which had also been leaked. The ministry announced the leak yesterday and scheduled September 30 as the new date for students to sit for the Science paper.

More than 470,000 Year Six pupils at 8,299 centres are affected by these leaks. The retake of the English papers, however, will not affect those from vernacular schools.

More than 50,000 exam invigilators are also involved, and Idris said that the papers have to be rescheduled to as late as September 30 in order to handle the massive logistics involved.

The statement by the Examinations Syndicate said it will carry out a thorough investigation into all claims of leaked question papers.

"This is to ensure that the public's trust in the validity and trustworthiness in the results given by the Examinations Board will not be compromised," it read.

"We will work with authorities to identify those responsible and bring them to justice."

Idris had earlier promised to get to the bottom of the incident, saying the leaks of both exam papers were a serious matter.

"This never should have happened. We will conduct a thorough investigation into the matter and will take the harshest action possible against those who were responsible for the leaks," he had said.

He also announced that a "high-profile" independent committee would be set up to look into the recurring problem of examination paper leaks and advise the ministry on actions to be taken.

"Because of the seriousness of the matter, we will set up a committee, which will give us their advice on what steps to take to ensure this does not happen again," Idris said. – September 11, 2014.