Putrajaya to review school-based assessment programme following protests

The Najib administration could be on the verge of another flip-flop, this time reviewing the universally unpopular school-based assessment system (SBA).

Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin (pic) said the decision was due to negative feedback from teachers.

"The SBA will be re-looked again as the ministry wants to implement the programme efficiently to improve the education system," he said.

It comes in the wake of a plan by a group representing teachers to gather at the Education Ministry in Putrajaya.

The about-turn is likely to fuel criticisms on Putrajaya's national education blueprint, which has been described as not well thought-out.

Muhyiddin's climb down comes ahead of a planned protest on February 22 by Suara Guru Masyarakat Malaysia or Teacher-Community Voices Malaysia (SGMM), a pressure group representing teachers.

The SGMM had vowed to continue with the protest despite the ministry's call to SGMM to return to the dialogue table.

SGMM spokesman Mohd Nor Izzat Mohd Johari said the group was adamant about calling for an end to the three-year-old system before it was used on Form Three students this year.

It hoped to attract about 200 teachers to join in what would be one of the rarest public shows of discontent by civil servants towards the government.

Muhyiddin said teachers were worried that the programme might not produce the desired result without an efficient database system.

He said teachers complained about the difficulty in keying in data as the system could not handle a large volume of data.

"They have asked the Education Ministry to review and study the programme thoroughly and rectify its flaws.

"We agreed with their views and will make a decision after a thorough study," he told a press conference after meeting teachers of SMK Precinct 8 in Putrajaya to get feedback.

SBA was implemented in 2011 starting with Primary One students and in 2012, the ministry implemented the programme in all Form One classes.

The assessment was part of the government's efforts to produce more well-rounded students instead of those who purely excelled in academics.

Yesterday, PAS Information chief Datuk Mahfuz Omar urged Putrajaya to pull the brakes on the SBA.

"We need a solution. Find a better system or improvise the new system based on the discussion with the teachers. We do not want the system to be implemented in haste and later draw a barrage of criticism," said Mahfuz.