UPSR alone insufficient as barometer: Ghani
Nota: Willian Ghani Bina berasal dari Kampung Pengalih Lawas dan beliau adalah Presiden kepada Persatuan Guru-Guru Sarawak (Sarawak Teachers Union)
By Peter Boon- Borneo Post 21 Julai 2009
SIBU: The existing Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) should not be used as a barometer to gauge students’ academic performance after six years of schooling as it can be unfair and misleading.
“This is because a student can be very well prepared, but on the day of examination, he or she could fall ill or feel nervous, thus affecting his or her performance,” Sarawak Teachers’ Union (STU) president William Ghani Bina said, adding that he had learnt of several such cases in the past.
“Therefore, I don’t think it is fair nor is it correct to pass judgement on a pupil’s academic performance after six years of schooling solely on an hour of examination,” he said.
Elaborating, he said just because a person did not do well in UPSR it did not mean he or she was not good academically.
In this connection, he strongly felt some modification to the existing UPSR was necessary to make it more relevant and indicative of pupils’ academic performance.
Ghani said this yesterday when asked for his view on the proposed reduction of UPSR weightage to 30 per or 40 per cent from the existing 100 per cent.
“STU stands solidly behind the proposal of Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin to have the weightage of UPSR reduced,” the STU president said.
The new approach, he reiterated was a clearer indication and accurate reflection of students’ academic performance.
Among others, he said the new approach would make learning fun and less examination-oriented.
Such environment, Ghani reckoned would help promote the habit of lifelong learning.
He added: “We want our students to go to school to get education for a better future. We don’t want them to study just to pass examinations.”
Giving a brief background of the new educational approach, he said UPSR would only account for 30 per cent of the total mark.
Another 70 per cent, he pointed out were marks accumulated from school based examinations from Primary 1 till 6.
Towards this end, he said the national examination board needed to make a detailed study to ensure that the guidelines were properly implemented and followed.
On history as a yardstick to gauge students’ performance, he felt it was to get the younger generation to be more patriotic and move closer to the 1Malaysia concept.
Ghani added: “I think among others it is to get students to have a better understanding of the composition of Malaysia.”
He said history also portrayed how people of different cultural backgrounds came together in harmony to make Malaysia a better place to live in.
He said the contribution of all races in the formation and development of Malaysia must be taken into account.
In this regard, Ghani proposed that the course syllabus be developed by a professional - an authority in such subject to make it more relevant.
“Politicians should shy away from such matter and leave it to those who know the subject matter best,” he added.
Meanwhile, a parent who identified herself as Chan Ping when met at a school here said she was all for the proposal.
This, she said, would put less stress on students.
Citing an example, she said her daughter was very stressed up in the run-up to UPSR last year.
“And during the actual day itself, I could see she was nervous and worried that she might not be able to do well in her examination,” Chan recalled.
She said such amount of pressure was not good for children as they did not know how to handle it.
She felt other things should also be taken into consideration when assessing students’ performance and not restricted solely to examination.
Another parent who wished to be identified only as Wong reckoned parents would be able to save on tuition fees.
He added: “I believe with the weightage for UPSR being reduced, some parents will not send their children to tuition for certain subjects. This will help to lessen the financial burden of parents particularly those who are earning average income.”
Tiada ulasan: