PUTRAJAYA: From this year, the Grade Point Average or GPS will no longer be used as a yardstick for the assessment of performance in primary schools as this does not contribute towards a student's holistic development.
Education director-general, Datuk Dr Amin Senin, said this was also to ensure the efficacy of school based assessment under the Primary School Assessment Report (PPSR).
He said GPS which had been in use for a long time must not be made an assessment tool for a school or student's performance.
"With the GPS, there will be comparisons made at state, district and school level, to the extent that we will forget that every student has his own uniqueness and ability.
"GPS does not have a positive impact, as it will all boil down to how many As a student has."
"It must not be used to compare schools and students. This is not the way, it is not right. This is why I have asked that GPS be no longer used in primary schools as the focus should not be on examinations there, but the forging of values and character.
"However, in secondary schools, especially at Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) level, it can be used as there is already streaming," he said at a press conference after launching a Pembangunan Modul Inspirasi Yayasan Pembangunan Ekonomi Islam Malaysia (YaPEIM) workshop here today.
He said primary school pupils should be educated holistically based on the four components of assessment under PPSR - academic, psychometric, sports and co-curriculum, and classroom assessment - and not be made to focus on academic achievement.