PETALING JAYA: The abolition of Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) and Pentaksiran Tingkatan Tiga (PT3) examinations has created widening disparities in the education system, according to stakeholders.
They warned that without the national examination benchmarks, it has become harder to measure learning outcomes uniformly across schools and districts.
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Malaysian Association for Education secretary Hamidi Mookkaiyah Abdullah said the decision had left the country without a consistent metric to objectively assess students’ proficiency levels across schools and districts.
“Without these examinations, it becomes difficult to measure the effectiveness of our primary and secondary education and to ensure uniform learning standards nationwide,” he said when contacted yesterday.
Hamidi said the removal of the exams had also affected the students’ motivation and discipline.
“The absence of a clear national goal can lead to complacency, as some students may take schooling less seriously,” he said.
He further warned that skipping the experience of sitting for centralised exams had left many students ill-prepared for the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM).
“This lack of readiness has contributed to a worrying trend of students choosing to skip SPM altogether,” Hamidi said.
He also pointed out that the School-Based Assessment (SBA) system had not been implemented consistently and was prone to bias and teacher workload issues.
“Without proper training, resources and smaller class sizes, SBA cannot replace a standardised national assessment effectively,” he added.
Parent Action Group for Education chairman Datin Noor Azimah Abdul Rahim urged the government to strike a balance between meaningful assessment and student well-being if UPSR and PT3 are to be reintroduced.
She said the removal of the two exams had led to a visible drop in academic motivation among students.
“Without clear milestones, some pupils struggle to see purpose in their learning and lose focus.
“On the positive side, the absence of exams has reduced stress and allowed for more creative teaching methods,” she said.
She added that the real challenge lay in finding the right balance – creating checkpoints that encourage learning without causing unnecessary anxiety.
“Parents welcome assessments that provide honest feedback about their child’s progress, but not a return to rote memorisation or excessive pressure,” she said.
Noor Azimah said any future examination framework should be diagnostic and modernised, highlighting each student’s strengths and weaknesses while ensuring interventions are effective.
“Parental support will also be crucial. Schools should work with parents through communication and workshops so that children receive encouragement, not criticism.
“Success should be viewed as progress, not perfection,” she added.
UPSR was abolished in 2021 while PT3 was cancelled in the same year and officially abolished in 2022 by former education minister Datuk Dr Radzi Jidin.
In August 2022, Radzi said the abolition of the two exams in the national education system was carried out to ensure that SBA can be implemented effectively and for teachers to implement teaching and learning in a more creative and innovative way.
On Wednesday, Deputy Education Minister Wong Kah Woh told the Dewan Rakyat that an analysis of the 2023 and 2024 SPM results showed that student performance remained stable despite the abolition of UPSR and PT3.
He added that the replacement assessment, Ujian Akhir Sesi Akademik, continues to follow Examination Board standards, enabling teachers to evaluate students effectively.
