Putting our exams to test
AS investigators struggle to get to the bottom of the UPSR examination fraud, our educationists are wondering whether this is the side effect of our education system that arguably is too exam-oriented.
True, a crime is a crime. Those responsible for the leaks of the UPSR English and Science papers should and must be severely dealt with. No two ways about it.
The actions of the few have compromised the integrity of the primary school-leaving examination, caused unnecessary trauma and grief to the nearly half a million children and hurt the reputation of the authorities.
The swift measure by the Education Ministry to suspend the top two officials of the Malaysian Examination Board pending a full investigation is a welcome move.
The affected parents, and the public at large, want answers on who, how and why, as well as what will be done to ensure these security lapses do not recur.
Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Mohd Yassin announced yesterday the setting up of an independent committee to look into the UPSR examination leaks.
The police, meanwhile, have recorded statements from six officials of the examination board and one journalist to help in their investigation.
This must be the first time the UPSR papers were compromised on such a big scale. That is why we need to quickly manage this matter to help restore the people’s confidence in our public examinations.
Later in the year, students will sit for SPM, STPM and other public examinations. These exclude the examinations at respective universities and colleges.
There is likely to be a public discourse on whether our school and tertiary education system is too geared towards passing public examinations, adding the pressure to do well among the students.
Education Minister II Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh thinks this could be the case.
“This is why we introduced the school-based assessment system, to take this pressure off,” he said last week. “Students have become too focused on just the examinations.”
That is why the PMR examination for lower secondary students is being replaced by PT3 that is based on assessment by schools.
In fact, the Education Ministry has introduced various appraisal mechanisms to complement the UPSR and the then PMR to ensure a more rounded education system.
True, it is difficult to fully gauge the affective and psychomotor portion of the development of students. But, to the credit of the ministry, it has been able to come up with measuring standards, such as the PBS and aptitude tests.
The problem is we the parents, the teachers and even the media think the UPSR, PMR and SPM exams are the be-all and end-all, the all-important exams that students must pass.
While we are not trying to de-emphasise the importance of public exams, we also need to ensure that learning is fun. Schools should be less boring, as boredom will kill the kids’ interest and make them hate schools.
As such, schools should put less emphasis on rote learning, something that the ministry is working on. High-order learning skills should be the order of the day.