KUCHING: A Chinese school board leader is in favour of the United Chinese School Committees’ Association of Malaysia (Dong Zong) postponing the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) examination in light of the impact resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic.
President of Management Committee of Kuching Chung Hua Middle Schools No.1, 3 and 4 Dato Richard Wee said Dong Zong will be making a decision on whether or not to postpone the UEC examination in the coming days.
“Personally, without jumping the gun about Dong Zong’s decision, as a Dong Zong Central Committee member, I am in favour of postponing the UEC examination but they should be held before SPM (Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia) examination,” he said when contacted by The Borneo Post here today.
In the past years, UEC examinations were held late October and early November, usually before the SPM examination.
On Wednesday, Education Minister Dr Mohd Radzi Md Jidin announced that this year’s SPM examination, which were slated for October and early November, had been postponed to the first quarter of next year.
Wee opined that if the SPM examination was rescheduled to January next year, the UEC examination ought to be held in late December.
“This is unprecedented whereby none of us would want to make this kind of decision. This is not the norm but it looks like it (Movement Control Order) may be (for) another month, which disrupts the progress of students attending schools and preparing for the examinations.”
Schools across Malaysia have been closed since the MCO was enforced on March 18. Prior to the MCO enforcement that has been extended to April 28, school students had their first mid-term holiday from March 14.
According to Wee, postponing the examinations is the right thing to do but in a way, it is unfortunate.
“We really hope the (Covid-19) pandemic can be under control. This is a medical issue, not financial or political issue. Nothing is more important than your health,” he said.
Asserting that everyone must stay healthy and safe, he said people of the country should join hands to address the medical issue first.
“We shall all take a step back and address the medical issue first. Once we address this issue, the other issues will heal by itself. Even our lifestyle has changed, I think it is inevitable,” he said.
Given the loss of time for students to prepare for their examinations, Wee said it was appropriate to postpone the examinations.
Asked if Chinese independent schools here were adopting e-teaching or e-learning, he said the committee will be having a meeting with school principals to make a decision on the matter.
“We will decide whether to have virtual classrooms for teachers and students without having to know when this MCO will end,” he added. - The Borneo Post
