THE Malaysian education system hasn’t fallen behind, but changes are necessary for the sector to flourish.
Acknowledging that the system has been “static”, Education Minister Datuk Dr Radzi Jidin said stakeholders must be more receptive to changes if they desire progress.
“Many have said that our education system has regressed but I disagree.
“It is just that we have remained stagnant for many years,” he said during the Education Transformation Executive Talk on Aug 24.
Because we did not move forward, others surpassed us, he said.
Other countries were very dynamic when it came to changing their education systems to suit the times, he added.
He likened the scenario to a slow car driving on the highway.
“When we drive slowly, cars that are going fast will overtake us one by one,” he said.
Addressing stakeholders at a hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Radzi said it’s a challenge to get everyone on the same page when it comes to education policies.
“We want to get ahead like other countries but whenever something is introduced, we say it cannot be done.
“Please, trust and support us. We are working very hard to move our education system forward,” he said, citing the abolishment of the Form Three Assessment (PT3) and Ujian Penilaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) as an example.
Classroom assessment has been used as part of school-based assessment since 2011 in primary schools and 2012 in secondary schools. It is a type of continuous assessment used by teachers in teaching and learning.
“For over a decade, well-thought-out measures including classroom and school-based assessments have been put in place to prepare teachers and students yet when the exams were scrapped, people said we were not ready.“So how many years will it take before we are finally ready?” he said.
Reminding teachers not to turn normal year-end tests into “high stake” exams, he said school tests should only be done to determine students’ mastery of the lessons, and are not meant to replace the PT3 or UPSR.
“Please don’t turn year-end exams or the final tests of an academic term into high-stake exams.
“Otherwise, we will be going back to square one.”
Although the ministry receives a huge chunk of the annual Budget, a large portion is for the payment of salaries.
“Over 80% of our allocation is for emoluments, so there are limits to what we can do.
“Nonetheless, we must do our best within those constraints because it cannot be the reason for the education system to remain static,” he concluded.
Also present at the event was Deputy Education Minister Datuk Dr Mah Hang Soon.
