KUALA LUMPUR, June 3 — The School-based Assessment (PBS) which contains three components namely Classroom-based Assessment (PBD), Physical, Sports and Curricular Activities Assessment (PAJSK) and Psychometric Assessment (PPsi) should be strengthened and empowered to ease parents’ concerns over the abolition of the Form Three Assessment (PT3) examination.
National Union of the Teaching Profession of Malaysia (NUTP) president Aminuddin Awang said the abolition of PT3 was the right move, otherwise, schools would only focus on the teaching system to train students to answer exam questions.
However, he said, many parents have also expressed their worry over the methods or assessments that could be used to evaluate students’ academic proficiency following the abolishment.
“The Ministry of Education (MoE) needs to examine the PBD system to convince parents and to ensure that its implementation at the primary level can be truly trusted,” he told Bernama when contacted today.
Senior Education Minister Datuk Mohd Radzi Md Jidin announced that the MoE decided to do away with PT3 which was introduced in 2014 beginning this year and that it would empower the PBS.
Meanwhile, the Parent Action Group for Education Association (PAGE) chairman Datin Noor Azimah Abdul Rahim said with the abolition of PT3, the culture of learning merely to sit for examinations has been addressed.
“The question now is to what extent can teaching through interventions be effective and what are the next plans to persuade parents that students who are lagging will get the attention they deserve and then reach the set benchmarks,” she said.
MIC vice president Datuk T Murugiah suggested the MOE reconsider the decision to abolish PT3, noting that they need to ensure students’ ability and determination to learn can be assessed fairly using a balanced assessment method for the sake of their future.
Meanwhile, Morni Wong Abdullah @ Wong Kheng Hing, 45, who is a secondary school teacher in Semporna, Sabah expressed his worry that students would not have something that they could be proud of when they finish schooling apart from only relying on the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination results to further their academic pursuit.
He said without the PT3 exam students might get too comfortable as the only major public examination now is the SPM, as the Primary Six Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) centralised examination was also abolished last year, which might cause them to pay less attention to monthly tests.
“When the time comes to sit for the entrance examination to fully residential schools (SBP) or Mara Junior Science Colleges (MRSM), they will not be very effective because they have missed lessons for so long,” he said.
A civil servant, Habsah Ismail, 43, opined that the PT3 abolishment posed a new challenge to parents and teachers, noting that to allow students to master classroom learning, all parties must be involved.
“I have a child who is studying in a fully-residential school in Kelantan and of course I expect teachers to be the main guide in assessing the abilities, and skills of our children as well as making assessments,” she said.
The abolishment surely brought relief to students but it does not mean they will not be assessed from time to time, she said, adding that students should aim at going to universities. — Bernama
