PLAN TO REPLACE, ABOLISH UPSR NOT NEW, SAYS FORMER EDUCATION MINISTER

2 May 2021

KUALA LUMPUR: The plan to replace UPSR with a more holistic and comprehensive assessment system is not something new and has been proposed since 2018, said former education minister Dr Maszlee Malik.

He said, during that time, the Ministry of Education (MoE) has decided to abolish the examinations at Level One (Years One, Two and Three) of primary schools.

At that time, the MoE planned to abolish UPSR only when a conducive ecosystem had been thoroughly cultivated and achieved.

Among the seven important things that have been cultivated to create a conducive ecosystem since 2019 is adequate training for primary school teachers to get themselves familiarised with the integrated and comprehensive assessments through the ongoing Latihan dalam Perkhidmatan.

Besides that, he mentioned a mobile phone application-based data system that makes it easier for teachers is also important to replace the Frog VLE system which is less user-friendly and burdening to teachers.

The development of such data system had been entrusted to the MoE’s (Big Data) committee established in 2019, he added.

“The Big Data committee aimed to build an accumulative data system for students starting from Year One until the end of primary school for the evaluation of the whole aspects of curriculum, co-curriculum, personality, psychometrics and skills using artificial intelligence.

“The main vision behind the establishment of Big Data committee in MOE was to maximize the use of ‘Deep Analytics’ in making informed decisions with integrity that are efficient,” he said in a statement, adding that this committee was however unfortunately abolished after the change of government in 2020.

Maszlee also mentioned the establishment of a support system for the curriculum, especially in the area of soft skills such as the Speaker's Corner, STEM Movement, UNESCO Club, Green Policy, Civic Education Across the Curriculum, Reading Campaign (Kempen Membaca) which have been launched in 2018.

“Most importantly, to restore the spirit, identity and confidence of teachers by reducing their clerical workload so that they are able to focus on their actual task of teaching, educating and paying attention towards whole person development of students.

"Obtained views and involvement from the National Union of Teaching Professions of Peninsular Malaysia (NUTP), teachers' unions and other parties involved so that the implementation of the curriculum support system is based on a “bottom-up” approach.

“Obtained views of the National Education Policy Review Committee (JKDPN) which proposed a New Education Model to replace the existing primary education system with a brand-new approach, which mandates pre-school education and exposes primary school students to STREAM (Science, Technology, Reading, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) as well as languages.”

According to the plan, Maszlee asserted that MoE in the year 2020 would have eliminated the examinations for Level Two (Years Four, Five and Six) first, until all ecosystems are fully prepared.

He stated that the highlight of this plan was the implementation of the New Education Model based on the results of the JKDPN report and the goal was to replace exam-oriented education with learning-oriented education.

“Rationally, the MOE under my leadership at that time saw that changes in education must be done in stages as well as need to happen holistically and not radiantly or in a patchwork.

“Unfortunately, the change of government has stunted everything. As a result, right now, we are forced with an education system that knows no directions and is as jumbled up as it can be,” he stressed.

The act of announcing the abolishment of UPSR in the middle of the year, after parents and teachers have made all the preparations for their children to face the exam has only caused panic among all parties involved such as parents, teachers, and students, he added, also regarding the decision as hasty and reactive without any proper planning for the long term.

“I am sure, there are some teachers, parents and students who are very happy and excited about the abolishment of UPSR. Just to our delight, I would like to remind you that every decision taken must be based on careful, thorough and detailed planning.”