Education Ministry to announce UPSR's fate next year

KUALA LUMPUR: The Education Ministry will announce next year whether to retain or abolish the Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR).
Education Minister Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid said the ministry was in the midst of getting feedback from various stakeholders and academicians on the matter.
He added the ministry was also studying education modules from other countries.
Mahdzir had stated last month that there is a possibility of UPSR being abolished in favour of a totally School-Based Assessment system.
"The analysis is conducted based on the views from academicians, module in foreign countries and the opinions of experienced school teachers. Furthermore, we just started with the new UPSR format," he told reporters at the Parliament lobby here today.
Mahdzir said since the matter is still being studied, it has yet to be tabled in Cabinet.
He added that the education system in Malaysia was too exam-oriented and focused too much on how many A's can a student achieve in examinations.
"Some countries conduct only one major examination throughout a student's primary and secondary education. In Malaysia, we have three exams," he said.
Earlier during the Minister's Question Time, Mahdzir said the country is currently basing its examination system on an old system.
"Other countries have advanced in terms of method and format in examinations. Many countries in the world have moved to the school-based assessment," he said when replying to a supplementary question from Datuk Noraini Ahmad (BN - Parit Sulong).