AI Summary
- Former Education Ministers Dr Maszlee Malik and Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid have called for the return of the UPSR exam to better assess students’ academic performance and discipline.
- Datuk Seri Mahdzir suggested having at least one national exam between Year One and Form Four to evaluate overall student progress.
- Education Director-General Dr Mohd Azam Ahmad opposed the idea, warning that exam-heavy systems create students who memorize without understanding.
- The current education system focuses on holistic development, aiming to nurture knowledge, skills, values, and psychological balance.
- UPSR was abolished in 2021 and replaced with School-Based Assessment to reduce pressure and promote understanding over rote learning, with PT3 also abolished in 2022.
Previously, former Education Minister Dr Maszlee Malik had called for the reinstatement of the Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) examination, saying it remains essential for assessing students’ academic performance and learning process.
As reported by NST, this suggestion was supported by another former Education Minister, Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid, who said it would help shape students’ overall character and learning discipline.
Image Credit: Zekolah
“School-based assessments and co-curricular evaluations are conducted by teachers, but personally, I believe there should still be at least one national examination between Year One and Form Four to assess overall performance,” he said.
However, the current Education Director-General, Dr Mohd Azam Ahmad, disagreed with the suggestion, saying that returning to an exam-heavy model would undo years of progress in shaping students beyond just excelling academically.
Image Credit: Astro Awani
In a report, Mohd Azam added that relying heavily on exam results to measure students’ progress would only create a “generation of parrots” — students who can repeat information but fail to truly understand or apply what they have learned.
Thus, the current education system focuses on holistic student development.
“What we want now are students who have knowledge and skills, but also good values, noble character, and psychological balance, because we are living in a world surrounded by robots."
He added, "Examinations can pose a threat to nation-building efforts if they cause teachers to spoon-feed students just to achieve cognitive and academic success or boost the school’s image, instead of nurturing well-rounded individuals.”
Image Credit: Utusan Malaysia
For context, the Ministry of Education abolished UPSR in 2021 and replaced it with School-Based Assessment to reduce academic pressure and shift the focus from rote memorisation to understanding and application of knowledge.
Similarly, the Pentaksiran Tingkatan Tiga (PT3) was also abolished a year later in 2022. The examination is now replaced with an enhanced School-Based Assessment system comprising three main components: Classroom Assessment, Physical, Sports and Co-Curricular Assessment, and Psychometric Assessment (PPsi).
Featured Image Credit: Utusan Malaysia, NST
