EDUCATION: Moving on from an exam-oriented culture

IT’S a new dawn for the Malaysian education system.

The Form Three Assessment (PT3) has been scrapped and so, for the first time in the country’s history, Malaysian students will face their first public exam at the age of 17, when they sit for the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM).

This move follows closely the Finnish education system, where it's only at the age of 16 that students sit for their first centralised exams.

The Nordic country does not practise rankings, comparisons or competition between students; something Malaysia has been gradually trying to mimic.

The changes began when the Education Ministry announced that from 2019, Years One, Two and Three pupils would not sit for mid-year and final exams.

More holistic forms of assessments would be carried out, former education minister Dr Maszlee Malik had said, allowing teachers to be more creative and innovative, and to create a more fun learning environment that focuses on continuous character building and development of a pupil’s potential.

He stressed on the fact that parents will see their children’s development in a more holistic manner rather than one that is purely based on their exam scores.

Using Finland’s system as an example, Maszlee said the country with a population of 5.53 million faced hiccups at the start of the implementation of its “no exams” concept, but gradually embraced it, which has benefited the country.

This is a necessary step forward for Malaysia as we shed our deeply entrenched need to assess and evaluate children based on their exam scores alone.

After all, these are merely seven-, eight- and nine-year-old schoolchildren - why should they face the pressure of scoring when really, they should be enjoying the process of learning?

Following that, the ministry took a larger step forward when it announced in April 2021 that the Ujian Penilaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) will be abolished starting last year - the first public exam to be abolished.

Twelve-year-old schoolchildren will now be evaluated using school-based assessments, which has been in effect since 2011.

With the exam culture very much ingrained in our DNA as Malaysians, parents have expressed mixed feelings over the decision.

However, Education Minister Datuk Dr Mohd Radzi Md Jidin stood firm, stating that it was made “after deep and detailed scrutiny that included engagement with all stakeholders”.

The ministry, he said, took into account the best practices of primary school assessment systems in countries such as Finland, Norway, New Zealand and Scotland.

In the same year, the 2021 batch of Form Four students were the first group to enter the Form without being streamed as the PT3 2020 exams were cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

This is another first in the country’s long-problematic streaming system.

And so, Form Four students, starting last year, would have the option to choose between two subject packages - the STEM packages or the Arts and Humanities package.

They would be selected according to the ministry's criteria, which take into consideration results from their Forms One to Three final exams and classroom-based assessments, among other factors.

Now, the latest in the ministry’s series of “exam-abolition announcements” came on Thursday (June 2), with Radzi saying goodbye to the PT3 exams for good starting this year.

Malaysia has long been an admirer of Finland’s highly successful education system and practices - a country where, for example, it is a must for teachers to have a master’s degree before entering the profession.

It’s taken them some four decades to reform their system and while Malaysia still has a long way to go, if the Finns’ success is anything to go by and looking at the steps we have taken so far, our future seems bright.

The decisions the ministry has made over the years required plenty of political will especially in facing criticisms from all quarters, as well as the difficulty in implementing changes to a rather complacent and outdated education system.

Emulating the Finnish model, however, will not be easy. Dedicated and zealous teachers are needed. They will have to be deeply involved and interested in moulding their charges.

Teachers who lack such traits and skills, who take it easy because no exams lie ahead, may prove to be a setback to the system.

What’s left to be seen is how the ministry, students, teachers and even parents, navigate these changes and whether the assessments and interventions in place will be carried out fairly and effectively. If done right, this could be a big step forward for Malaysia.