PUTRAJAYA: The Education Ministry is not in a rush to reintroduce the Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) and Pentaksiran Tingkatan 3 (PT3) and will study the matter thoroughly before presenting it to the cabinet.

Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek said the ministry would ensure that any decision made will not adversely affect students, particularly those related to the National Education Philosophy.

"We need to prepare our overall perspective (on reintroducing UPSR and PT3 before bringing it to the cabinet). We are in the process of finalising these views. However, it cannot be viewed from just one aspect, as it involves larger issues.

"Our children are not lab rats that we can just test repeatedly with exams or no exams. We need to have a solid plan and we have already undertaken various measures to strengthen the Pentaksiran Bilik Darjah and our teacher training.

"It is also crucial to ensure that nothing will undermine the overall progress of our children, especially on the National Education Philosophy. Therefore, the reaffirmation at the ministry level is to ensure that whatever decisions we make do not adversely affect our children, particularly those closely related to the National Education Philosophy," she said to reporters at the Education Ministry's monthly assembly

Fadhlina added that the ministry's focus now was on Curriculum 27 and the new education development plan in which all inputs related to reintroducing exams have already been included.

On Sept 15, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi called for a review of the education policy on examinations for Primary 6 and Form 3 students.

This, he said, was necessary following revelations that 27 per cent of Year 1 pupils nationwide had problems with reading, writing and arithmetic.

At the same event, Fadhlina also launched the Education Ministry's strategic plan for 2024-2030, which comprises five pillars: improving access to and quality of education, strengthening digital education, enhancing the facilities of Education Ministry institutions, empowering human resource management and reforming the governance system.

She also launched the "Understanding the 40 Hadith of Imam Nawawi" programme.

Meanwhile, on absenteeism during Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM), she said the ministry had already held performance dialogues with all District Education Offices (PPD) nationwide to identify in detail the issue of dropout rates among SPM students

This intervention, she said, would be more detailed, as each PPD would examine the situation locally, taking into account issues closely related to the demographics of each state.

"Secondly, there are national-level interventions. We have initiatives such as 'Ziarah Cakna' and various programmes to ensure that students continue to attend school, focusing on subjects where they need improvement along with collaboration with Yayasan Khazanah on the Anak Kita Programme which will specifically address dropout rates.

"At the same time, there is also a commitment from the state governments, which I commend, as this commitment has had a direct impact on improving SPM results and attendance in the respective states. For instance, Selangor has organised 'Tuisyen Rakyat' and received a good response and it has translated to good results. Other states also have similar initiatives," she said.

https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2024/09/1109486/fadhlina-no-rush-reintroduce-exams