Sarawak Bumiputera Teachers Union (KGBS) president Zulkiflee Sebli said since the abolition of UPSR during the pandemic, there have been many complaints from both teachers and parents about the school’s education system at that time.
KUCHING (Jan 5): Many support and some are disappointed in the abolition of the Primary School Achievement Test (UPSR) and the Form Three Assessment (PT3) in the national education system.
Sarawak Bumiputera Teachers Union (KGBS) president Zulkiflee Sebli said since the abolition of UPSR during the pandemic, there have been many complaints from both teachers and parents about the school’s education system at that time.
“Students come and attend school as if they go to school without a ‘target’. Before this, students were reminded to focus on their studies to sit for UPSR. Of course, there are pros and cons that we heard of from various parties when UPSR was abolished.
“Many support and some are disappointed because with the abolishing of UPSR, there are no more centralised tests or examinations,” said Zulkiflee.
Nevertheless, he said as of now, there has not been any confirmation if UPSR and PT3 are coming back.
“We do not know (yet), under the purview of the new Education Minister, if the implementations of these tests will be done with the same concept as the previous.
“Even though there is no UPSR, as what had been announced by the former Education Minister, examination papers for the students now will be prepared and coordinated by the Ministry of Education (MoE).
“KGBS hopes that the Final Academic Session Exam (Ujian Akhir Sesi Akademik or Uasa) will be conducted at the end of the semester, by focusing on students’ development and achievement.
“We are confident that the MoE will be able to decide what is best for the children in making education world-class in our country,” he said.
Prior to this, the former Education Minister said the abolition of the UPSR and PT3 in the national education system was carried out to ensure that school-based assessments (PBS) can be implemented effectively, and to ensure that teachers could implement teaching and learning (pdP) in a more creative and innovative way to ensure a more enjoyable learning environment.
Meanwhile, the new Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek recently said any decision to revive UPSR and PT3 will only be made after the tabling of the report on the implementation of the Education Development Plan 2013-2025.
She said the outcome of the report on the Education Development Plan will serve as a reference for the ministry to decide whether to re-introduce both examinations in the education system or otherwise.
As of now, she stressed that the ministry is focusing on efforts to strengthen PBS instead of examination-oriented mode to improve and develop skills and knowledge among students in the country.