Govt apologises to teachers over system hiccups

Deputy Education Minister II P Kamalanathan said the school-based assessment was not meant to burden the teachers.

KUALA LUMPUR: Steps are underway to improve Internet performance for the smooth implementation of the school-based assessment system before the new school term begins, Deputy Education Minister II P. Kamalanathan said yesterday.

He said the government was deeply concerned over the complaints from teachers on the additional burden they had to face due to the unsatisfactory Internet performance for the school-based assessment system.

Kamalanathan acknowledged that poor internet performance in the system was the primary problem that had undermined its smooth implementation.

“The school-based assessment is not meant to burden the teachers but to provide for a more holistic assessment of students that is not based solely on examinations.

“However, many challenges are faced in its implementation. On behalf of the ministry, I apologise to all teachers for the problems encountered.

“It was never our intention to burden the teachers. We are in the process of seeking a solution,” he said when winding up debate at the committee stage on the Supply Bill 2014 in the Dewan Rakyat.

Kamalanathan said the school-based assessment system was temporarily stopped during the school holidays to enable improvement of the Internet performance.

Earlier, during the debate, several MPs expressed their disagreement towards the implementation of the school-based assessment following the complaints from the teachers.

Bung Mokhtar Radin (BN-Kinabatangan) called on the government to abolish the system, saying that besides burdening the teachers it was not feasible in remote areas without proper electricity supply.

Kamalanathan explained that a study undertaken by the ministry showed that the system had its benefits and could be implemented well in schools if the Internet problem could be resolved.

He said the system was being used in other countries, such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and Singapore.

Meanwhile, Kamalanathan also said that the ministry had imposed a moratorium on the setting up of private institutions of higher learning for two years from February this year.

He said this was to control the opening up of new private institutions of higher learning and to ensure that there was no oversupply of courses.

He said that as of Oct 31, there were 520 registered private institutions of higher learning in the country, comprising universities, university colleges, foreign branch campuses and colleges.

-Bernama