UPSR abolished starting this year, 2021 PT3 cancelled

KUALA LUMPUR – The Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) examination for Year 6 pupils will be abolished starting this year, said Education Minister Datuk Mohd Radzi Md Jidin.

At a special press conference here today, he also announced that the Form 3 Assessment (PT3) for 2021 is cancelled.

“In line with the abolition of UPSR, the Primary School Alternative Assessment for special needs pupils will also be done away with.”

He said Year 6 pupils will now be subjected to a bolstered School-Based Assessment (PBS), and that admissions to boarding schools next year will be based on the Specific Schools Admission Assessment (PKSK).

The decision to abolish UPSR was made after obtaining the views of more than 1,700 stakeholders, comprising teachers, parents and students, as well as unions and associations, nationwide, he said.

Radzi said teachers told the engagement sessions that they had to finish the syllabus quickly so that UPSR “drills” could be conducted, and that some educators had to “steal” time from subjects without exams to help pupils prepare for UPSR.

The pressure to ace the exam has also seen parents sending their children to tuition classes from as early as Year 1, he said.

He said many students viewed UPSR, which was introduced in 1988, as key to getting enrolled in boarding schools, but when PKSK was implemented last year for admission to such schools, only a quarter of Year 6 pupils sat the exam.

“We saw that, if given the choice, not all students want to sit special exams to get into boarding school.”

On the cancellation of PT3 this year, he said students’ time to prepare was taken into consideration, as was the lack of in-person schooling due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

He said the assessment method for the exam this year is the same as 2020, namely PBS.

“PT3 will be cancelled this year, but the assessment remains in the national assessment system. This is different from UPSR, which is abolished from 2021.” – Bernama, April 28, 2021