A rights advocate and an education pressure group say the 10As caveat means that nothing will change in the plight of non-Bumiputera students denied entry to public universities.

Experts cite the lack of exams and motivation as well as a problematic curriculum.

Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek says school dropouts will not occur if children are required to study up to the SPM level.

Minister Fadhlina Sidek says the rating of scores must be according to merit.

Some SPM graduates say they do not know how to convince their parents of what they want to do in life.

The number includes private candidates who were registered to take only one or two subjects.

The former education minister says there were only 14,858 absentees and not 30,000 as claimed by Anwar Ibrahim.

This follows a report that 14,858 or 3.8% of the 388,832 candidates who registered for the 2022 SPM did not attend the examination.

75,322 candidates obtained average results with at least a grade C for all subjects.

A number of factors are at play, including concerns over finances and the cost of living.

Some say that furthering their studies is not as beneficial as it once was, while others cite the cost of tuition fees and their reluctance to take on a student loan.

Candidates are urged to immediately inform their schools if they cannot reach their designated exam centres.