KUALA LUMPUR – Is there something more than meets the eye in the government’s decision to abolish the Form 3 Assessment (PT3) examination?
According to industry sources, Malaysia’s depleting coffers may have been the key factor behind the move to do away with yet another major national exam, after the Primary School Achievement Test (UPSR) was similarly scrapped just last year.
Experts estimate the move could save the government up to hundreds of millions of ringgit each year, an amount deemed essential as the country moves into endemicity following two years of being ravaged by Covid-19.
A former examiner, who spoke to The Vibes on condition of anonymity, noted that millions have been spent annually to conduct each national-level examination across the country, from preparing questions to implementing the logistics to arranging the marking of tens of thousands of papers.
There is the cost for printing the exam papers, distributing them nationwide, and paying examiners to mark the answers, among others.
“This is excluding the possibility of leaked papers, in which case a new set of questions have to be produced, printed, and distributed,” the educator said.
“You can ask other industry players, and I believe they will tell you the same. I feel the government has just run out of money, and that is why PT3 is being scrapped. It’s just that this is not being told to the public.
The Vibes has reached out to Education Minister Datuk Mohd Radzi Md Jidin for comment but has yet to receive a response at the time of writing.
In a major announcement on June 2, the senior minister had said that the PT3 examination will be abolished effective this year, with focus instead to be placed on school-based assessments.
He said formative and summative assessments throughout the academic term will allow parents and teachers to monitor the development of students more closely and hold intervention sessions if the need arises.
PT3 exams for 2020 and 2021 were cancelled due to the protracted Covid-19 outbreak.
The termination of PT3 comes slightly over a year after Radzi had announced on April 28 last year that UPSR for Year 6 pupils would cease.
According to the source, with the increasing population directly in the country translating to more students sitting for major examinations, the abolitions of the two exam systems would have been deemed sensible by the government.
Of course, the minister cannot say that the government has no money, but if you look at the state of some of our schools and other public facilities, it says as much.
Perhaps, those in Putrajaya were thinking if there is even a need to continue with the PT3 exam.
No other reason to abolish exam
Another industry player, who is a former teacher heavily involved in preparing past examination papers, said he believes Radzi might have been pressured by “those in higher positions” into scrapping the exam.
She said those close to the minister would have known Radzi to be someone who is loyal and would often heed the orders given by his superiors.
“I think you can figure out for yourself who is the person in charge in Putrajaya,” she said, ostensibly alluding to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.
I just don’t see any other reason to abolish PT3 other than that the government is trying to save money.
She said this is also possibly the reason behind Radzi’s absence from a parliamentary special select committee (PSSC) meeting on Monday, as the minister would not have been able to answer questions on the actual motivation to scrap the exam.
In a statement yesterday, Simpang Renggam MP Maszlee Malik, who is the chairman of the PSSC on education, revealed that neither Radzi nor any ministry representatives had attended yesterday’s meeting where they were supposed to furnish further explanation on the abolition of PT3.
This is despite them being officially summoned by Parliament, Maszlee said, as he accused them of undermining the August house.
The minister has yet to explain his absence from the meeting. – The Vibes, June 18, 2022
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