During our primary school years, many of us likely encountered math questions that were too complex for us to confidently grasp or answer. However, instances of teachers unfairly grading students' tests have come to light.

In a recent viral story circulating on the internet, a school student received partial marks for answering a math question with "RM2" instead of "200 cents."

Othman Talib, a lecturer, shared his perspective on the situation on Facebook. He expressed dissatisfaction with the teacher's decision, asserting that the student's answer was indeed correct and should have been accepted. He pointed out that in everyday life, "RM2" is commonly used to denote 200 cents and considered it a clever way to respond to the question.

The student demonstrated their calculation by adding 80 sen to two 60 sen coins, resulting in the total of RM2. Despite the student's effort, the teacher deemed the "RM2" answer incorrect simply because it wasn't written as "200 sen," resulting in the student receiving only 3 out of 4 marks.

Numerous online users flooded the comment section, expressing outrage at the teacher's decision and arguing that the student deserved full marks.

"Where is the pedagogical flexibility? In mathematics, there isn't just one prescribed method for solving problems. This student demonstrated ingenuity by converting the answer from cents to ringgit, showcasing a high level of understanding. Even diploma students sometimes struggle with unit conversions."

"I can't believe teachers like this still exist."

"If the intention was to have the answer in cents, it should have been clearly specified with 'Please provide the answer in cent value.'"

"When you go to a store, do you pay in cents? The wording of the question itself is flawed. If they wanted the answer in cents, they should have rephrased the question to request the answer in cent value explicitly."