I refer to the letter SPM core subjects: some pertinent suggestions .

While I agree with most of the former teacher's suggestions, the recommended passing mark for examinations is something we need to review. A passing mark of 45 tells us that a student needs only get a minimum of 45 percent of the learning objectives to pass. Is this the quality of Malaysian school leavers? Let's discuss this.

For many years, the government set the bar very low for Malaysian students. For example, the passing mark for primary school is forty. While this can be justified in many ways, the same however, cannot be said for secondary schools.

Every year there is a ‘bogus increase' in the overall results for PMR, SPM, and STPM (there are cases where a student's SPM subject result is suddenly five standard deviations above his average).

This is as if to inform the citizens that the government has done a good job. Then there was the glorification of individuals. This was rampant during the previous education minister's era. It started when Nur Amalina scored 17As in her SPM and two years ago Azali managed to get 21As in his SPM.

Not to say that I'm skeptical of their cognitive or rather study skills, but the real question is what hasn't changed in the Malaysian education scenario? There is a ‘predictable' increase in public examination results every year. So it is reported in the newspapers every year. Shall we raise our hands and rejoice? No.

Generally speaking Malaysia's English proficiency is the third best in Southeast Asia after Singapore and the Philippines. KL-ites, urban Penangites, urban Sabahans and urban Sarawakians speak good English. Someone said that if you are attached to a certain St Francis Convent, the pupils themselves will give you a lesson in English. How embarrassing is that?

In the rural and suburban schools however, pupils and students are ‘engineered' to pass the paper. This is done by the constant study of past exam papers. So a lot of students pass English this way. What's the big deal? The quality is still much to be desired. I have come across students who only managed to pass English in secondary school. They then go to UiTM to take pre- university courses and several years later become doctors and engineers.

Still they cannot communicate effectively in English. A lot teachers regardless from the Bachelor of Education stream or from KPLI barely passed English when in secondary school and end up teaching science and mathematics.

Your average civil servant, mall security guard, bus driver, and salesgirl cannnot speak decent English. You say it's not important. I say Malaysia is a tourist destination. All the more reason to elevate the ‘pass bar' in secondary schools.

Unemployed graduates are a problem for Malaysia. Why? New universities are being built. The current ones expand to open new faculties. Private colleges are stemming out of nowhere. We seem to want to increase the quantity of graduates but forget to think about the quality.

I know of many engineering students who scored for ‘Tamadun Islam' but failed calculus. A lot of graduates fail to gain employment in the private sector because they did not leave a good impression during job interviews. Why is this happening?

The policy in Malaysia is that everybody can gain entry into a university and everybody can graduate. It should be that not everybody can enter a university but those who do should graduate.

To make this happen we must make it more difficult to pass the SPM. Again, I stress that the passing mark for secondary schools must be raised. Here is my suggestion:

A1 - High Distinction 85 - 100

A2 - Distinction 81 - 85

B4 - Credit 71 - 80

B5 - Credit 61 - 70

C6 - Pass 51 - 60 (More than 50 percent of learning objectives achieved)

S7 - Conditional Pass 45 - 50 (Students to sit for supplementary test)

F8, Fail 0 - 44 (students not allowed to progress to the next level - repeat paper)

The current passing mark of forty-five is irrelevant by today's standard. It should be raised to fifty-one. This tells us that the student must command more than 50 percent of the learning objectives in order to pass. Should this happen, we would expect a lot of students to fail. Numbers will fall drastically. Will this make the government look bad? No.

Holding on to the status quo makes the government look bad. Think of the long-term benefits for Malaysia. Remember the silver lining only comes after the storm. Perhaps this way, students who aspire to be another SPM record-breaker will spend more time teaching their peers rather than aiming for self-glorification.

And perhaps teachers should take their everyday classes more seriously rather than banking on exam paper drills at the end of each semester to save their own skin.

P.S. - The issue of rising unemployment due to an increase in secondary school dropouts should not arise. There are community colleges and vocational training centers out there to help them get a better future.