A PENANG executive councillor has called on the Education Ministry to hasten the return of public examinations for Year Six primary school children.
This comes after an assessment on 779 Year Six students from 22 Tamil vernacular primary schools reflected slow comprehension of Bahasa Malaysia, Science and Mathematic subjects.
This indicates that public examinations need to be reintroduced at primary school, perhaps even at Form Three, Five, and Upper Six, said Datuk Seri S. Sundarajoo, who oversees the housing and environment portfolios.
He also chairs the special state committee on Tamil vernacular schools for Penang.
Sundarajoo told a press conference that the seven-month assessment and help by the educational non-governmental organisation (NGO) - Sri Murugan Center Penang branch revealed that the 779 students accessed scored highly on English and their native tongue Tamil languages.
However, they struggled with Science, Mathematics and the national language of Bahasa Malaysia.
Local educationists Datuk L. Krishnan and Dr Sumathi Selvam, as well as other senior educators, conducted the assessments.
Sundarajoo said that the lack of assessments in various stages of schooling life can lead to complacency among both parents and children.
This can be best stopped through the return of public examinations such as the UPSR, and students can be tested in various stages of their academic curriculum.
"It would boost competition and teach students how to react under the pressure of delivering the best results and comprehension possible."
He said that there is now a noticeable struggle for Tamil vernacular school students to move from primary to secondary schools.
The majority of the Tamil vernacular schools are primary and their students end up opting for national, Chinese vernacular or private secondary schooling.
"There is a struggle in terms of culture and many of the Tamil school students face difficulties when in a classroom with students from diverse backgrounds."
Sundarajoo said that by increasing the quality of imparting knowledge at the primary level, including examinations, it may spur both parents and children to be proactive in learning.
Krishnan welcomed Sundarajoo's assertions, citing that the level of education has eroded at the primary level because of the omission of the UPSR examination.
A number of Tamil school students end up in Form One (remove) classes to ensure they can play catch up, but many end up struggling due to cultural issues.
Sri Murugan's role and the offering of tuition were part of efforts to ensure the transition for such students was seamless, said Krishnan. - November 8, 2024.
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