Should UPSR be abolished?

Subject matter: Some parents are all for abolishing the exam, but others are not as convinced that it would be a good idea.

PETALING JAYA: Parents and stakeholders are torn over the National Union of the Teaching Profession’s (NUTP) renewed calls to abolish the UPSR examination.

Melaka Action Group for Parents in Education (Magpie) chairman Mak Chee Kin asked whether abolishing the UPSR would mean having a de-centralised test such as the Form Three Assessment (PT3).

He said the UPSR should be abolished but disagreed that it be done immediately.

“We shouldn’t rush into abolishing it for the sake of abolishing it, ” he said.

Teachers need to be fully prepared and they need to be trained for all the sports, physical and curriculum activities, classroom assessment and psychometric assessment, while parents must be ready to accept it, he added.

On Sunday, NUTP secretary-general Harry Tan Huat Hock said that abolishing the primary school level assessment test could ease pupils’ burden.

“It may also help society to move away from the notion that pupils’ intelligence was measured by the number of As they scored, ” he said.

On whether abolishing the UPSR would affect pupils who wish to apply to fully residential schools after Year Six, Mak said an entry test should suffice and priority should be given to B40 (low-income) group as they might lack a conducive environment at home to study.

Parent Fauzia Sultan said abolishing the UPSR was a good idea but it must be replaced with more effective ways of measuring pupils’ academic development to help them progress intellectually.

“Any form of exams should be measured based on a deeper understanding of a subject than mere theory-based evaluation, ” she added.

A parent with two primary school children who wanted to be known only as Ng concurred with Fauzia but said the Education Ministry must ensure a smooth implementation.

“By removing UPSR, you are removing the academic component of Primary School Assessment Report (PPSR).

“So how do we as parents assess whether our children have truly mastered a subject? And how will pupils be assessed for fully residential school applications?” he asked.

Karen Chin, whose triplets sat for the UPSR last year, said the ministry should abolish it and transform the UPSR from academic-based to a fully school-based assessment system.

“Schools should encourage a fun learning environment for the six primary years.

“For example school should conduct quizzes, moral education, physical activities to balance up the students, ” she said, adding that these were sufficient to assess a pupil’s academic growth given their tender age.

However, other parents said the UPSR examination should not be removed.

A parent who wanted to be known only as Kavitha said since examinations for Years One to Three had been removed, it would be difficult to assess the children.

If the UPSR were to be abolished, children would not go through any government exams until Form Three, and they might have difficulty coping with the demand, she said.

“Make it less stressful for the pupils but have it so that they will feel the need to learn and not have a tidak apa attitude since there are no exams, ” she said.

Parents too would be less anxious not knowing whether their children were ready for secondary school examinations, she added.- Star