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KUALA LUMPUR: Since the Movement Control Order (MCO) was first implemented due to the Covid-19 pandemic in March of last year, the education sector is among the most affected and the problems in this regard are arising until today. .
The threat of Covid-19 has led the Ministry of Education (MOE) to make several important decisions, including the cancellation of two important exams, namely the Primary School Achievement Test (UPSR) for sixth-year students and the Form Three Assessment Test (PT3).
The proposal to abolish these two exams (UPSR and PT3) was raised even before the pandemic hit the country, but could not be carried out due to various limitations, including objection from parents.
The Covid-19 pandemic also prompted the 2020 Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM), Sijil Pelajaran Vokasional (SPVM), Sijil Tinggi Agama Malaysia (STAM) and Sijil Tinggi Pelajaran Malaysia (STPM) exams, which were supposed to take place last. from last year, which will be postponed and scheduled for early this year.
About 500,000 candidates from SPM, SPVM, STAM and 47,008 STPM are expected to sit for the important exam that will take place next month and March.
With what is happening now, some think that the education sector is the most affected by Covid-19. Perhaps this pandemic effect could be the starting point for changes in the assessment of primary and secondary school students, which previously focused on exams.
Suggestions from various sectors, especially academics, that the country’s education system no longer look at the examination system, but rather explore the talents and ability of students to be self-sufficient, should be seriously considered.
Although it is still debated to adapt it in the education system, the path towards it should be opened as wide as possible, according to a professor at the Center for Education and Community Well-being, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) Anuar Ahmad.
He said the evaluation system can be done in other ways, including continuous evaluation.
“A good and quality evaluation can be implemented in other ways. The Board of Review should be more open in exploring this matter. A new mentality is very necessary, in line with the changes that are taking place today because we have been in the traditional aspect of the exam for too long, ”he recently told Bernama.
He said the pandemic has taught a lesson that we can no longer rely on exams alone.
“We must move to a newer and better form of evaluation that is more appropriate over time and in the future. Through the current examination system, it is possible for a student to obtain A, B or C, but to what extent does a student know about the subject being taught, their ability to master or practice it, “he added.
For example, he said, there are students who can memorize and get A in a particular subject, but it is questionable whether the student is able to give arguments or think outside of what they memorized.
“So how are we going to build an innovative and creative group of students if they still practice the existing exam system? This evaluation system must be elevated to a new form if we are to produce a creative and innovative generation, ”he said.
Meanwhile, the president of the National Association of Parents and Teachers (PIBGN), Associate Professor Datuk Mohamad Ali Hasan, opined that it is time for the exam-based assessment system to be overhauled.
Malaysia’s education system is currently too “test-oriented,” especially reliance on tests and emphasis on academic achievement, he said.
The assessment of students should be in various aspects towards higher level thinking that encompasses physical, emotional, spiritual, intellectual and socialization.
Mohamad Ali said that these elements of creative, scientific and high-level thinking should be sown in children as soon as possible, if possible at the preschool level through more interesting methods, including games.
If instilled at an early stage, learning becomes interesting and fun – it won’t be rigid or old-fashioned, he added.
He suggested several measures, including the implementation of the school-based assessment (PBS) and not 100 percent on end-of-year exams.
“PBS can be done by … maybe for the school term system with a score of 33:33:34 (three periods) or for the 50: 50/60: 40 semester system (two semesters). The theory and practice, or given assignments, should be balanced for all subjects, ”he said, adding that this method should also be applied in major exams like SPM and STPM. -Called
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