KUALA LUMPUR – If 2020 was a difficult year, 2021 proved turbulent for Malaysia’s education sector.
A total of 21,316 students dropped out of school before completing their studies during the pandemic between March last year and July this year, according to a BFM tweet.
21,316 students have dropped out of school before completing their studies, during the pandemic between March 2020 to July 2021.
— BFM News (@NewsBFM) December 5, 2021
According to the Education Ministry, they make up 0.22% of the total number of students in the country. pic.twitter.com/LT7GV9LMyS
The Education Ministry (MoE) noted they make up 0.22% of the total number of students in the country.
Although the proportion may seem small, it involves too many students who had been affected in an unprecedented manner.
Nevertheless, parents, teachers, and the managements of both MoE and the schools had cooperated to resolve problems as schools reopened this year.
Parent Action Group for Education Malaysia chairman Datin Noor Azimah Abdul Rahim said globally, the whole academic year was a let-down.
“Students in Malaysia took a lot longer than everyone else to return to schools, resulting in a relatively wider learning loss,” she said.
“Students with online devices enjoyed some form of learning. Some teachers did not optimise their online time. Those students with no online devices were supposed to resort to Didik TV, but did they?
“Students who received Cerdik devices will need to be taught by parents and teachers not to misuse them, and instead use them effectively,” said Noor Azimah.
As we approach the year’s end, the Vibes Education Desk looks back at its array of education articles as a reminder of the challenges faced by the sector.
Revision classes
In January, the cohort of 2020 Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) students had their trial exams cancelled and had to immediately prepare for their SPM exams.
To assist them, MoE held revision classes that month, prior to the exams in February.
Mixed feelings over schools reopening
When primary and secondary schools were scheduled to reopen this year, parents felt torn between schools reopening and the fact that teachers needed to be vaccinated as soon as possible.
As the pandemic made its presence felt, primary schools only reopened in stages in March, and secondary schools in April.
This was to ensure that standard operating procedures (SOPs) were followed to prevent overcrowding in schools.
Relief for parents of Tamil vernacular schoolchildren
The Vibes had interviewed parents of students in Tamil vernacular primary schools, who said they felt relieved when schools reopened – as many students lack Wi-Fi and online devices at home due to parents losing their jobs as a result of the pandemic.
SPM held in February for 1st time
The SPM exams were held in February for the cohort of 2020, much to the relief of parents. MoE had set strict SOPs, working with secondary schools to ensure safety was paramount for both teachers and students.
Students not ready
The Vibes also spoke to SPM students, who revealed that they were not ready for the exams – mainly due to the lack of face-to-face teaching and devices for online learning.
No re-sit despite alleged history paper leak
Although it was reported that the SPM history paper had allegedly been leaked, a re-sit was not announced by MoE.
Online marking for faster results
To ensure the timely marking of SPM papers, MoE worked with assigned teachers to do so online, another first for Malaysia.
UPSR abolished, PT3 cancelled
Among the many milestones this year were the abolition of Ujian Penilaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) as the Primary Six assessment and the cancellation of the Form 3 Assessment (PT3).
Senior Education Minister Datuk Mohd Radzi Md Jidin said the replacement for PT3 would be class-based assessments, sports and curriculum assessments, as well as psychometric assessments.
As for UPSR, the ministry is exploring new methods of assessment to put less pressure on exam-based learning, allowing for more creativity in students’ education.
Disappointing lack of planning
MoE’s decision to abolish UPSR was seen by parents – many of whom had been preparing their children for the exams for months – as being haphazard.
Teachers look for novel ways to reach out
The on-off movement control orders (MCOs) disrupted face-to-face schooling and many parents had to support their children via home-based teaching and learning, with teachers in rural areas – especially in Sabah and Sarawak – having to find other ways to support online teaching.
Difficulties in obtaining internet access had led students to climb trees and hills just to get Wi-Fi in order to join their online classes.
This led former education minister Maszlee Malik to say a different approach is needed, given the failure of online teaching to reach out to all segments of the population – especially the poorer, marginalised communities.
During an interview with The Vibes, Maszlee suggested distributing notes, manuals, and worksheets, besides maximising the use of radio and TV.
Rotational system
The successful vaccination drive of teachers had allowed the country to slowly transition into the recovery MCO.
Under Phase Four of the National Recovery Plan, students in Melaka, Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, and Putrajaya returned to their schools in stages. Those in Years 1, 2, and 3, as well as Forms 3 and 4 were back in class on November 1.
Years 4, 5, and 6, as well as Forms 1 and 2 returned on November 8.
Speaking to The Vibes on schools reopening, parents felt that the rotational system – where classes were divided into two, with one week on and one week off – confused students. However, they agreed that there was no other choice at the moment, given the Covid-19 impact.
Dissatisfaction with SPM 2022 schedule
Parents and students went online to express their dissatisfaction, as the exams had been scheduled for March next year for the cohort of 2021.
Revised, less cramped
MoE subsequently took note of the complaints and issued a revised, less cramped March schedule – with more days for SPM students to conduct their revision in between exams.
The school term for primary and secondary students has also been extended to March next year, and the next school session is to be known as the 2022/2023 session.
All in all, it can be concluded that 2021 was a year full of surprises and challenges for parents, teachers, and students alike. – The Vibes, December 25, 2021
