KUALA LUMPUR – Although the abolition of examinations had been in the pipeline since Pakatan Harapan came to federal power in 2018, there were also plans to create an ecosystem over time to support students’ holistic assessment.
This was derailed when PH lost Putrajaya to Perikatan Nasional in March last year.
Former education minister Maszlee Malik, in a statement today, said the ministry last year planned to abolish exams for Years 4, 5 and 6 pupils, culminating in the implementation of the New Education Model based on a report by the National Education Policy Review Committee.
The goal was to replace exam-oriented education with one driven by learning, he said.
“Rationally, at that time, the ministry under my leadership saw that changes in education must be done in stages, as well as holistically – not in a patchwork manner.
“Unfortunately, with the change of government, everything came to a halt. As a result, we are forced to contend with a haphazard education system that has no direction.”
His comments come after the government abolished the Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) exam, and cancelled the Form 3 Assessment (PT3) for 2021.
The act of announcing the abolition of UPSR in the middle of the year, after parents and teachers have made preparations for pupils to face the exam, has caused heightened anxiety among the public. This is seen as hasty and reactive, without careful long-term planning.”
He also revealed some of the steps the ministry took in 2019 to ensure a comprehensive assessment system.
Among them are:
- Adequate training for primary school teachers to carry out integrated and comprehensive assessments;
- A mobile app-based data system to ease the replacement of the Frog VLE system, which was not user-friendly;
- The establishment of the Public Data Committee in the ministry to build an accumulative data system for Year 1 pupils until the end of their primary education. This is to evaluate curriculum, co-curriculum, personality, psychometrics, and skills in using artificial intelligence;
- Create a support system, especially in the field of soft skills, such as the speaker’s corner, STEM movement, Unesco Club, green policy, civic education and reading campaign launched in 2018;
- Important to reduce teachers’ clerical work, so that they can focus on teaching;
- Get the National Union of the Teaching Profession, teachers’ unions and other stakeholders involved in the implementation of a curriculum support system based on a “bottom-up” approach; and,
- Take into account views from the National Education Policy Review Committee, which proposed that the New Education Model replace the existing primary education system that mandates preschool education, and exposes primary school pupils to science, technology, reading, engineering, arts and mathematics, as well as languages. – The Vibes, May 1, 2021
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