KOTA KINABALU: Sabah and Sarawak should consider creating a federal government ratified "Borneo Education System" to cater the present and future needs of both the regions.
Tungku assemblyman Assafal P. Alian urged the two state governments to approach and discuss this as it is within the rights to shape their education system as founding members of Malaysia.
"While both Sabah and Sarawak have agreed during the formation years to allow the federal government to manage our education system, it is obvious that throughout the years, unseen hands have repeatedly interfered in our education system causing many deviations with important facts being omitted, most notably, on the formation of the Federation of Malaysia and our inherent rights and privileges under MA63," he said.
Assafal in a statement said what Sabah needs is an education system that will produce students of international qualities and eventually assist in the development of the state through meritorious appointment as governmental and industries leaders.
"That is why I think the idea by the Sarawak government to create their own state assessment examination similar to Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) is very good because unlike schoolchildren in Peninsular Malaysia who can spend more time for extra-curriculum activities due to their superior academic environment, our schoolchildren in the rural areas are not so lucky and lagging behind academically due to poverty, logistic challenges, insufficient teaching equipment and poor facilities.
"I believe intermittent assessments, similar to UPSR and Pentaksiran Tingkatan Tiga (PT3), are required in Sabah for the controlled academic pressure for our schoolchildren and to enable our schools to continuously evaluate the performance of their students and make the necessary intervention or assistance long before they sit for their final Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) exam," said the assemblyman from Warisan.
These proposals however will likely burden teachers, hence the reason why the Sabah and Sarawak governments need to discuss and come up with a blueprint that reflect a separate education system that is more relevant and practical in both Borneo regions, he said.
"The idea is not to break away from the federal Education Ministry but to assert Sabah's and Sarawak's position as the founding partners of the federation and to ensure the huge annual budget allocations worth billions of ringgit for the education ministry will be spent for the purpose of achieving the aspirations and current, future needs of both regions.
"But Sabah and Sarawak must firstly reach their consensus on this matter and thereafter, present their case as a united front to the federal government," he added.
On Wednesday, the Sarawak government said it is working to create its own assessment examination for Year 6 students in government schools, aimed at providing them with the necessary guidance to make well-informed choices between science and arts streams as they progress to secondary school.
State Education, Innovation and Talent Development Minister, Datuk Seri Roland Sagah Wee Inn said this forthcoming assessment is expected to bear resemblance to the UPSR, which was abolished by the Education Ministry in 2021, Borneo Post reported.
An education expert and a parents' group questioned Sarawak's plan saying it would be better for the state
and the federal Education Ministry to align any plans for assessments for students.
On Thursday, Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek said the ministry was open to discussions about the idea since it was aligned with the ministry's direction, which focuses on holistic assessment rather than examinations.