Kuala Lumpur - A 15-year-old student was believed to have set his school on fire in a desperate bid to escape having to sit a nationwide examination, a news report said Thursday. The student was thought to have used diesel to torch one of the main examination halls early Wednesday, which signalled the first day of a middle-level assessment exam.
While failing the exams, which include tests on at least seven different subjects, would not hinder a student's progression to a higher grade, the assessment is highly competitive as students vie for top grades.
In spite of the incident, the 75 students were relocated to another site where they completed their papers for the day.
Wednesday morning's fire was not the first time an exam hall was torched in the school, located in Malaysia's southern Johor state, said deputy education director Markom Giran.
"Last time, a school workshop was torched. We believe this was the work of students who deliberately tried to stall the examination because they were not prepared," Markom was quoted as saying by the Star daily.
Authorities estimate the damage to amount to about 20,000 ringgit (5,405 dollars).
