Nads Debate

According to the news, the UPSR and PMR both exams we have all gone through once will be abolished by the LPM around 2012.... Then there is also the suggestion of reintroducing PTS... Sometimes I wonder if they ever make up their minds or weigh the pros and cons before doing something. If there are no exams for the student, I think we will seriously have problems.....The students might think there is no need to study since there aren't public exams... If the exams are school based then it would be even more unfair... maybe even corruption in school haiz.. Nevertheless, with exams we are faced with the hype or the hobby of collecting A's...

………………………………………………………………… Oh no, I hope this doesn't double/triple/multiple post. Anyway, I to agree there should be more practical. I finished secondary school without knowing how to do proper distillation, purification and stuff. However, the problem is, do we have adequate funding for this kind of things? Robotics, rocket and such are all very nice but most schools' teachers don't have the expertise for these projects. Even for just normal practical exams, grading would be a problem. The obsession with As, may lead to unfair grading. Remember the "projects" we did which basically just follow the marking scheme to ensure a high mark? That would just be another form of regurgitation which isn't what experiment is about. That said, I'll like for them to bring back the old practical exams in SPM where students rotate in the lab doing experiments and writing report. If I'm not mistaken, in it you'll have to test your chemicals etc yourself. It'll be a good way of preparing and ensuring one has the required skills in the lab

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Hmmm... So what name they want to change now? UPSR and PMR don't sound glamour enough huh? How different could it be? Malaysian Examinations Syndicate (MES) director of examinations Datuk Dr Adi Badiozaman Tuah: The proposal to abolish UPSR and PMR examinations came from parents who felt the current education system was too exam-oriented. Well, this time, I don't want to comment on government. I want to comment on parents. Do the parents really think the education system is too exam-oriented? I saw a lot of parents always comparing results of their children with each other. I saw they send their children to endless tuition classes. And the bookstores are full of 'buku rujukan' (especially Popular Bookstores). In addition, it is the parents who against co-curriculum evaluation. It was because of countless parents request, the local university requirements does not take co-curriculum into considerations when recruiting new undergraduates. When the government want to implement National Service, for only a few months, it was the parents strongly against it, saying it will affect their children's study. I saw a lot of parents complaining about their children, saying that they join too many activities in school. I saw a lot of parents, who took away their children's childhood, to get them excel in the UPSR and PMR. It is because of the parents, the children today loses their identity, to be excel in exam is their goal of life, and everything else is secondary. So you can see a lot of soulless children nowadays, don't care about the politics, environment, culture, and even personality. Five types of assessments will be introduced to replace UPSR and PMR: School assessment, central assessment, central examination, psychometric test and physical activity assessment. Well, now it doesn't sound so exam-oriented. Right? But I can bet with you, the parents will make it very very exam-oriented in the end also. There will be tuition classes for each type of the assessments mentioned above. More burdens to the children in the end. And they will still comparing the results of each assessments of their children with each other. And many complaints will arise about the those assessments that not about conventional study from the parents. In the end, those assessments will either abolished or it will become another form of exam (or I call it disaster) to those poor little children. The points I want to make here are: 1. Parents all around Malaysia, please don't be so Kiasu!!! Your child is not something you can compare with your friends' child. Every child is unique, and have his/her own strength and weakness. 2. Education is not only about study. It's about personality development as well. And stop forcing your child to study all the time. 3. Parents, please change your mindset and stop blaming the current education system is so exam-oriented. You made it that way, so please bear with it.

Actually, I'm very happy with the government's decision this time, to change the education system. But, I think, they need to change the mindset of the parents first. If not, it will be another burden on the children instead of good news to them. And I want to apologize for generalizing the parents. I know some of the parents are not like this. Sorry again for involving those who are not. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………