KUCHING, Feb 27 — All Primary Six pupils from aided Chinese primary schools (SJKC) and Tamil schools must attain Mastery Level (TP) 4 to TP6 in their respective schools’ assessment for the Bahasa Melayu (BM) language subject in order to proceed to Form 1 studies, effective this year.

According to a Ministry of Education’s (MoE) official notice sighted by a national Chinese daily recently, pupils who attained TP1 to TP3 in the assessment will have to be further assessed in the Bahasa Melayu Assessment Literacy Test (UPLBM).

Based on the notice, pupils who fail the UPLBM will be denied entry into Form 1, and referred to foundation class.

Given the latest directive, schools are required to make sure that Primary Six pupils who attained TP1 to TP3 in the Bahasa Melayu language subject must sit for the UPLBM.

Pupils who pass the UPLBM will be granted entry into Form 1.

It is learnt that UPLBM was already conducted on Feb 14 in all SJKC and Tamil schools.

The new school term is expected to begin on March 21.

Deputy Education Minister Senator Datuk Mah Hang Soon told the national Chinese daily that the UPLBM aimed at assessing the Bahasa Melayu standard among the pupils concerned, and not to make it difficult for these young ones.

He said pupils who failed the UPLBM will be referred to foundation class to enable them to master the national language.

In the past, he said the ministry decided whether a Primary Six pupil will be allowed entry into Form 1 based on the Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) result for the Bahasa Melayu language subject.

"If a pupil does not pass either writing or comprehension test, the pupil will be referred to foundation class. Now that UPSR is scrapped, the ministry has decided that Primary Six pupils will be assessed based on their Bahasa Melayu subject results at the school.”

Mah added that the ministry had come up with UPLBM to give a second chance to pupils who attained TP1 to TP3 for the national language subject to proceed to Form 1 studies. — Borneo Post