Exam abolition will help develop students holistically

KUALA LUMPUR: Education Minister Dr Maszlee Malik said the decision to abolish examinations for pupils in Years One, Two and Three from next year was aimed at creating a learning environment that would further help develop the students.

He said the examinations would be replaced with more objective assessments beginning next year that would not burden both the teachers and pupils.

“This is not something new, it has been introduced in 2011 but lost its ‘spirit' since.

“Hence, this time we want to introduce it in a more comprehensive form that will not burden both the teachers and students, and it will make learning fun,” he told reporters at the Parliament lobby yesterday.

On Wednesday, Maszlee through his Twitter account uploaded a statement about the abolishment of examinations for Year One, Two and Three pupils.

Meanwhile, the National Union of Teaching Profession Peninsular Malaysia (NUTP) welcomed Maszlee's efforts to abolish the examination beginning next year as it was relevant to make the education system in the country to be more holistic.

Its secretary-general Harry Tan Huat Hock in a statement issued yesterday said a more holistic educational system would allow students to smile, run, play, exercise, learn ethical and moral values, establish love and respect towards each other.

He said the NUTP would like to ease the confusion among the parents as the assessment system to be implemented was more about the achievement of students throughout the year and it could be carried out in various ways such as quizzes, monthly tests, interviews or by assessing a student's essay.