Lower primary pupils in Malaysia’s national schools will not have to sit for examinations from 2019 onwards, announced the Ministry of Education.
Education minister Dr Maszlee Malik tweeted the news on Wednesday (31 October) and said that students in year one to three will go through a more objective assessment.
He added the assessments will focus on pupils’ learning development.
“This is in line with our desire to replace the exam-oriented culture with learning-centred assessments,” he said.
National Union of the Teaching Profession secretary-general Harry Tan welcomed the move.
“Summative examinations have contributed to rote learning and the only yardstick to assess the success of our pupils are As in UPSR (Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah) or a good ranking in class,” Tan said.
“Pupils are deprived from having fun, learning good values of friendship, respect and love. The time for them to run and play have been replaced with numerous hours in the classroom and also tuition classes.”
UPSR is a major exam that students in primary schools must sit through to graduate. The Primary School Leaving Exam (PSLE) is its equivalent in Singapore. And just like in Singapore, educators including Tan also called for the abolishment of UPSR.
Although most educators were supportive of the education, one of the state’s parent support groups hopes the ministry has an objective approach to the new assessment method, reported The Star.
“Will the teachers be properly trained? Will they be burdened with extra paperwork? All these need to be looked into before implementation,” said Mak Chee Kin, chairman at Melaka Action Group for Parents in Education.
Singapore’s Ministry of Education (MoE) has also similarly announced a scrap of major school exams. In September, MoE said it will scrap the mid-year examinations for primary 3 and 5, as well as secondary 1 and 3, over the next three years.
The move aims to reduce the stress associated with school-based assessments and free up more time and space in schools to strengthen holistic development, self-discovery and engaged learning.