‘Phase out current system in stages’
KUALA LUMPUR: The Education Ministry has been urged to give some flexibility to schools to adapt to the call to phase out current system in stages.
National Union of the Teaching Profession (NUTP) president Kamarozaman Abd Razak said although it would be a good move to mix students of different academic levels, there were several things to take into consideration.
“Putting clever and academically weak students together would cause problems not only for the students but also teachers.
“Clever students might get bored in class and academically weak students might not be able to catch up with the lessons.
“Therefore, it is best for this matter to be done in stages. Let the school monitors their students and put it into practice (of non-streaming) first,” he said.
Parent Action Group for Education (PAGE) chairman Datin Noor Azimah Abdul Rahim said if the ministry was serious about putting a stop to academic streaming, they should consider introducing the teacher’s assistant method.
“Teachers need to be prepared if this is going to be implemented. One teacher cannot attend to each child as different children have different abilities and there are different ways to approach them,” she said.
Azimah welcomed the move and added that with the implementation of the Primary School Assessment Report (PPSR), each child would be evaluated on various assessments, not only on academic.
Meanwhile, the call to abolish class streaming and control school has received mixed response from parents.
Shamsul Annuar Ismail, 35, who has a daughter in Year Two, said the move to do away with class streaming would motivate students to study hard to be on par with their classmates who were academically good.
However, Zaihan Abu Bakar, 42, who has a son in Form Two, said: “Having academically weak students in the class may get smarter students thinking that there is no need for them to work harder as they will always be among the top in class.”