MIRI: Sarawak might have missed by a whisker of putting three schools on the top performing list for last year’s Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) but it would make amends this year.
SK Ulu Lubai in Limbang and SM Sains Miri, Miri made it to the list but SK Ba Kelalan in Lawas district narrowly missed it after failing to secure 100 per cent passing percentage by one student failure in the UPSR last year.
Lawas District Education officer Matzinan Wahit rued the miss and said the district would be gunning for the school to make it in the next round and continuous improvement in passing UPSR passing advantage this year.
“Ba Kelalan has all the ingredients to make it as the top performing school,” he said.
The district education officer is looking forward for an improvement by Chinese-medium schools this year, saying it’s crucial in raising the district’s performance which has consistently chalked up improvement in the past four years.
He said this at the recent incentive awards presentation ceremony officiated by Second Minister of Planning and Resource Management Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hassan at Hotel Seri Malaysia over the weekend.
Matzinan pointed out that headmasters and teachers must also have relationship skills, apart from academic and pedagogical, to inspire and motivate their students and parents to strive for excellence.
He commended all those involved in the consecutive years of improvement in UPSR, saying it was reflection of their commitment and dedication.
The jump from allocation of RM30,000 to RM52,000 for top-scoring students, high performing headmasters and teachers reflected the upward trend in the district.
SK Ba Kelalan and SK Ulu Lubai were on even footing, being joint Gold Medal winners of Commonwealth Best Education Practices Award last year and has boosted international linkages to schools and universities.
The recognition ceremony for 13 secondary schools and 10 primary schools in the second cohort was officiated by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin at SK Ulu Lubai on Feb 23.
SK Ulu Lubai received the accolades for its outstanding performance of six consecutive years of 100 per cent passing tag.
SK Ba Kelalan raised eye-brows by having one out of three students with straight As in the last UPSR examination to chalk up quality performance last year, with only one student failing the exam.
Seven out of the 23 UPSR scored five As, and four with four As, 1B, a remarkable achievement for a rural school tucked in the remote Ba Kelalan highlands, while in the lowlands, SK Kampung Seberang and SK Kuala Lawas lowlands scored 100 per cent passing percentage to underscore the overall improvement of UPSR passing percentage to 63.49 throughout the district.