Associate Prof Dr Jeniri Amir
KUCHING: Abolishing examinations for primary school pupils is long overdue, said University Malaysia of Sarawak (Unimas) senior lecturer, Assoc Prof Dr Jeniri Amir.
‘This is very good, the way forward. Our education system is too examination oriented. We should make learning in classroom more fun and interesting,” he told Borneo Post Online today.
He was commenting on Education Minister Dr Maszlee Malik announcement that examinations for primary school students in Year One to Three will be scrapped from 2019.
Maszlee tweeted the announcement this morning and stated that the exams will be replaced by a more objective form of assessments.
In stressing that he was qualified to comment on this issue as a former teacher, principal and school inspectorate with 30 years of experience as educationist, Jeniri said he was saddened that the nation’s education objective seemed to be focusing too much on getting A’s.
“Our education system must develop creativity, imagination but our system seems to focus too much on exams. Schooling life is all about taking exams. It is as if to do well and to be excellent means to bury their nose in their textbooks and scoring strings of A’s,” he lamented.
Jeniri said students should not be too obsessed with examinations and examination results.
“In fact, our education and examination system is restraining students’ creativity and imagination. Arts, music for example are good for pupils at that age apart from sports that will help to inculcate team spirit.
“Students from young and their parents are so infatuated with exams results, so they will attend tuition classes until there is no time to enjoy and play,” he added.
To add insult to injury, Jeniri said most of the tuition classes primarily prepare students on how to answer examination questions.
“Emphasis should be on how to stimulate and challenge the students mind and boost their creativity and imagination,” he said, stressing that imagination, creativity and innovation is definitely more important than memorising facts and information.
“Abolishing exams for primary school is long overdue. I have been a teacher, school inspectorate, school principal and lecturer with over 30 yrs experience in education.”
“In short we should encourage creative, analytical thinking among our students and emulate from top education countries like Finland, Denmark and Norway,” he concluded.