Should We Abolish UPSR? Headmasters Council Thinks So.
The Malaysian School Headmasters Council has proposed that the Education Ministry abolish the Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) which is seen as too focused on academic achievement. Its President, Awang Mohmad said, abolishing the examination could bring a positive effect by helping to develop the students' personality."The examination imposes a heavy burden as parents, teachers and students become so focused that they neglect the personality and social development of students," he said to reporters after attending a farewell party held in conjunction with his retirement as a headmaster here, Thursday. Awang Mohmad, headmaster of Sekolah Kebangsaan Kubang Kerian 3, here, and President of the Kelantan Headmasters Council will retire on Jan 20.
Awang said, primary education level should focus more on developing the students' personality and social education to prevent them from being influenced by unhealthy elements.
"Currently, the UPSR is seen as too important causing the students to study too long while teachers and schools fear that their performance might face a setback," he said.
He added, there were no examinations at primary level in advanced countries and yet students succeeded in education. "The problem now is that teachers and schools receive a blow when the UPSR results drop while problems faced by the schools or lack of facilities are not taken into consideration," he said.
Students should be taught good values at an early age because their minds were still unaffected by negative elements.
Awang said, he was preparing a working paper on the proposal and would submit it to the Education Ministry when ready. (Bernama)
***** I think that the good HM has a point. Encik Awang is absolutely correct on where the focus should be at primary school level. We have over the years turned the UPSR into a battle between parental egos. As a result the poor children have been made to suffer marathon tuition classes and long, long hours of boring studies so that the parents could bask in the perceived glory that straight-As are supposed to bring. We should put the fun back into primary schooling and Encik Awang's suggestion to abolish the UPSR is an excellent way to start.
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Labels: Malaysia - Education.
posted by The Malaysian. at 1/18/2007 07:17:00 PM
7 Comments:
I dont agree. u remove the upsr u remove a prime focus for students and teachers...improve the present system to achieve the goals mentioned but to abolish UPSR..to me a definite NO NO.
As all my three children have left primary school, I do not have a personal interest in the UPSR anymore. However, for the sake of argument, having seen the pressure applied on my children by ALL the teachers that were teaching them then, I'd have to disagree with bengbeng and billy and say, let's do away with that darn exam! The pressure was even greater on children in the top class as all my 3 kids had complained to me, wishing that they'd been in the lower-end classes instead. Being in a Chinese-school only increased the pressure what with the 'kiasu' mentality adopted by the school and even the PTA. Imagine, no PE, singing or art lessons - teachers used those periods to teach the UPSR subjects instead. You know what they say about all work and no play - this was and I believe still is how teachers (esp. in Chinese schools)treat their pupils. And for what? The more pupils who achieve straight As, the better the reputation, not of the pupils, but of the teachers and the school. So, yes, let's just get rid of the UPSR and concentrate instead on developing creative minds and all-rounded personalities.
what the HM said was his own personal view and i think he was not representing the council. for him to equate advance countries with ours is like comparing apples with oranges. thier whole philosophy, concept and system is different .
I dont agree with The malaysian statement that this upsr thing is an ego booster thing for parents. making sweeping statement like that is uncalled for as it represents only a minority group. how many parents send thier children to tution classes? to many, living day to day and supporting the familly itself is a a huge burden let alone spending maybe 1/3 of thier take home pay on tuition! This just dont happen to the majority of us!
Why not we award all students with all A's and make everyone happy in particular the Minister Of Education. We will then have a world class education. No need to abolish, just give all A's and make everyone happy without pressure. Parents, teachers, headmasters, Directors of Education will all be singing with praise.
i just wanna say that im agree with bengbeng...actually im not proposed to disagree about the way we want to upgrade our edu system.. im a student from rural area which has left primary school about more than 10 years ago. For me, canceling UPSR is not the way to improve our edu sytem. Why dont we try to find another alternative rather than remove the current system. I know today, changes is important but we must think about the children. We could said that we try to give the best shot for them in order to produce student with positive personality by trying to compare with the other country edu system. Please, stop to follow others... why dont we just keep in our own track..I know maybe others might be disagree with my statement but there is a reason why im saying this. Teachers said that there are always being blamed when the achievement of their students started to drop. As a good teacher, its a natural of their work to ensure their student success in their academic but this does not mean that all the efforts will put on the teacher's shoulder. Parents also must be responsible...To develop such positive personality it must started at home. But, there is nothing we could do if the student them self dont want to change their attitude. Not sound to be irresponsible but, when the parents could not control their own children, how could teachers or others be able to change them... So, we must think first rather than make a removal. Maybe some of the problems could be solve by such removal but not UPSR. Try to find out what the school children may face when there are too many changes...does they are able to cope with the situation...??
i just wanna say that im agree with bengbeng...actually im not proposed to disagree about the way we want to upgrade our edu system.. im a student from rural area which has left primary school about more than 10 years ago. For me, canceling UPSR is not the way to improve our edu sytem. Why not we try to find another alternative rather than remove the current system. I know today, changes is important but we must think about the children. We could said that we try to give the best shot for them in order to produce student with positive personality by trying to compare with the other country edu system. Please, stop to follow others... why dont we just keep in our own track..I know maybe others might be disagree with my statement but there is a reason why im saying this. Teachers said that there are always being blamed when the achievement of their students started to drop. As a good teacher, its a natural of their work to ensure their student success in their academic but this does not mean that all the efforts will put on the teacher's shoulder. Parents also must be responsible...To develop such positive personality it must started at home. But, there is nothing we could do if the student them self dont want to change their attitude. Not sound to be irresponsible but, when the parents could not control their own children, how could teachers or others be able to change them... So, we must think first rather than make a removal. Maybe some of the problems could be solve by such removal but not UPSR. Try to find out what the school children may face when there are too many changes...does they are able to cope with the situation...??
i just wanna say that im agree with bengbeng...actually im not proposed to disagree about the way we want to upgrade our edu system.. im a student from rural area which has left primary school about more than 10 years ago. For me, canceling UPSR is not the way to improve our edu sytem. Why dont we try to find another alternative rather than remove the current system. I know today, changes is important but we must think about the children. We could said that we try to give the best shot for them in order to produce student with positive personality by trying to compare with the other country edu system. Please, stop to follow others... why dont we just keep in our own track..I know maybe others might be disagree with my statement but there is a reason why im saying this. Teachers said that there are always being blamed when the achievement of their students started to drop. As a good teacher, its a natural of their work to ensure their student success in their academic but this does not mean that all the efforts will put on the teacher's shoulder. Parents also must be responsible...To develop such positive personality it must started at home. But, there is nothing we could do if the student them self dont want to change their attitude. Not sound to be irresponsible but, when the parents could not control their own children, how could teachers or others be able to change them... So, we must think first rather than make a removal. Maybe some of the problems could be solve by such removal but not UPSR. Try to find out what the school children may face when there are too many changes...does they are able to cope with the situation...??
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