Views on UPSR and PMR Examinations - A Letter to the Education Minister of Malaysia

His Excellency the Honorable Deputy Prime Minister,
And the Minister for Education, Malaysia,
Block E8, Complex E,
Pusat Pentadbiran Kerajaan Persekutuan,
62604 PUTRAJAYA, MALAYSIA.
E-mail: kpkpm@moe.gov.my
alimuddin.dom@moe.gov.my


Your Excellency,


Re : A View On UPSR and PMR examinations


It is unlikely that an isolated consideration of the usefulness or unusefulness of the examinations at primary and secondary levels would bring out the inherent defects in the entire education system. There must be a holistic study to look at the operation of the present system and detect the flaws and also a broadminded inquiry held to ascertain whether the current education system had yielded the desired result of seeing quality education, or is it aimed at seeing the growth of a population with so-called education in the numerical sense. The present aim of the examinations at primary and secondary levels appear to be for the sake of shifting the students to another level of education but without any regard to ascertain how much the student has learned; or, absorbed into his or her mental faculty thus forming a strong foundation to further his or her intellectual pursuit.

Beginning with the proposition that education is the life of a nation, the natural question that arises is whether the present system of education had paved the way to nationhood. Sadly, we are yet to coalesce as a nation. This is apparently due to the apparent divisions perpetrated along racial and religious lines which had grown into race-cum-religious polarization.

While it is admitted that nation-building is not an easy task given the fact that Malaysia is a heterogeneous society, the sensible effort, shorn of racial and religious sentiments should rightly begin at primary level and continue at secondary level and also in places of higher learning. This aspect of educationary process requires a thorough investigation.

One might ask what is wrong with the present system.


Briefly, the present education system has been producing narrow-minded, race and religious minded and so-called educated class who look at everything with narrow mindedness primarily imbued with the notion of economic amelioration and status consciousness. This has the effect disrespecting the views of others, culminating in arrogance and non-compromising attitude. Thus, an environment had been created which stifles the growth of the feeling of one Malaysia. The wicked racial polarization is gaining strength at every level of education, because the seed for the cultivation and nurturing of racial polarization had been sowed at elementary levels.

To create the feeling one Malaysia and one Malaysian people the ground work has to begin at Kindergartens, and continue progressively at primary and secondary schools. The present system had systematically helped to widen the gap between the various races not only on racial, but also on religious grounds ignoring the need to promote racial harmony and onenest as human beings.

It may be argued that the present system may not be too perfect yet workable; but, this neglects the ground swell about the quality of the education. How is it that a student of another country could possess better knowledge than the Malaysian student of the same age at primary or secondary level? Why is that students in other countries at a young age are able to articulate their views comfortably but not our students? These are some of the pertinent issues that call for urgent investigation.

Presently there is no evidence to suggest that the examinations oriented course at primary and secondary levels had been beneficial to the students in the preparations for their future, and their capability to meet the challenges ahead. It would have been helpful if a study had been conducted to ascertain how the students who have cleared the primary and secondary examinations had been able to face the exacting regimes at colleges and universities. This brings us to the point whether the foundation laid at primary and secondary levels have had the salutary effect to preparing them to absorb the different kind of education they would receive at Colleges or Universities. A random survey would show that:

• those who excelled at primary and secondary levels foundered at College level;
• those who have managed to clear the College hurdle have foundered at University level;
• those who managed to get through all these levels find that their education so far acquired had not been able to make them perfect human being but have come out with strong racial and religious biasness and sentiments.
The problems that students are inadequately equipped could be traced to their foundation education acquired at the primary and secondary levels. This could be discovered by the attitude of the teachers and parents.

Teacher’s role
The teachers in primary and secondary schools are so immersed in protecting and enhancing the prestige of their schools they are jealously pursuing a course to ensure that their students are prepared to perform well in examinations. Rote learning is encouraged whereby the substance is lost, as a result they do not understand what they are learning or what they have learnt.

Parents
Parents, it would seem are the biggest culprits. Swayed by economic interests they seem to have very little time over the quality of their offspring’s education. To surmount their responsibilities they find refuge in seeing that their offspring are sent to tuitions. This course too prepare the child to be examination oriented and nothing more. Strangely it is the same teachers teaching the same students at regular schools who find time to give tuitions at the tuition centres that had mushroomed all over the country. Besides, the parents seem to be suffering from dignity – neurosis; for, parents are labouring under false illusion that their children passing the examinations with A’s is a prestigious element in their social life. Even social and political organizations had shown their inclination to honour those students who have scored A’s through public receptions. The education system and these organization who are out to gain publicity, have ignored the elementary fact, and that is, only an insignificant percentage of the students score distinctions but a majority of them are unable to score better results because of their family conditions, financial demands or other factors. What should have been done is to enquire why have the majority been unable to score better marks which is more important than mere publicity in honouring the students who have achieved A’s. Leaders are prone to ignore the factors that hurt the society in general and that is the culture we have cultivated and nurtured so far.

The role of Teachers and Parents
The teachers’ determination to preserve and enhance the dignity of their schools, and the parents’ attitude to see their children excelling in examinations alone have not equipped the children to scale better heights in the academic realm or the realities of life. UPSR examination at the end of six years of primary education and PMR examination at the end of form five, altogether some eleven years of education have not adequately prepared the students to pursue further education. Besides, the dropouts after primary level, or streaming, after the UPSR examination had not brought about encouraging results. Similarly PMR examination too had seen significant dropouts. If examinations are the yardsticks to measure the level of education students had achieved, sad to say, this approach had not been helpful. A child could be very good in normal studies but with all the pressures brought about by teachers and parents the students tend to perform hopelessly at examinations.

The question is whether it is a humane to subject the young minds to so much of pressure at one time. Perhaps a better approach would be to have regular assessment [every month or once in two months] to assess the progress made by the student. By this assessment it could be ascertained to what extent and how well the child is progressing to grasp the subjects and understand what had been taught. At the end of each year an examination be conducted to ascertain how much the student has learnt and how well the child is able to express in writing what that has been learnt.

Annual examination on all subjects would be the best solutions as it will help the students to overcome the examination pressure, fear or tension instead of holding at the end of the sixth year for primary students and at the end of the five years for secondary students; only to administer knock-out blows at both levels. Here I would add that compulsory education both at primary and secondary levels should be vigorously implemented, and in this regard the society too has a role to play, society should refrain from employing young children for work with lucrative incentives. Laws must be in place to tackle errant employers whose objective is purely monetary gain.

The current USPR and PRM examinations do not help the students to understand the subjects they are being taught, and do not help them to express what they have learned.

The current UPSR and PRM examinations do not help to bring the best out of the children because their mental aptitude has not been developed to enquire, appreciate and understand. The students are treated like robots. They should be treated as human beings who need educated guidance.

Yours faithfully,

K.Siladass