Being in PEMANDU, I got to mingle with many people, often from completely different backgrounds and job scope. To cut it short, we had a brief discussion / debate whatever you like to call it on the education in Malaysia. A hot topic, would you agree?
From PPSMI, cluster schools right to Penilaian Tahap Satu (PTS). Well, there two school of thoughts actually regarding this matter. Personally, I am opposed to the abolishment of PTS.
I bet the younger generations are not aware of what PTS is actually was. It was introduced by the then Education Minister ; DS Najib in 1996. The exam was to be taken by Standard Three students (9 year-old) to determine whether they are bright enough to skip a grade, straight to Standard Five. In 2001 it was abolished due to public outcry; mainly from parents and professionals.
1. The exam was not compulsory to ALL Standard Three students. Instead, the teachers will identify the group of potential students.
2. Once passed, the students are NOT forced to skip a grade. They could opt not to skip.
3. Let's say when the student is in Standard Five and the academic result slipped dramatically, he/she could choose to be be in Standard Five the following year. (again)
In my case, a big chunk of my primary school life was spent in Kelantan.
Sekolah Kebangsaan Tanjong Mas, Taman Uda Murni, Kelantan.
The teachers decided that only the students from the brightest class (3 Bestari) will be sitting for PTS.
If my memory served me well, PTS exam questions were a bit IQ-test like. Just a simple one.
Apparently, SKTM has a track record of one successful student each year. Only one.
It freaks me out, man!
The year before, it was the Chinese girl. And my batch, sure enough the tradition was continued.
I was the only one who passed and skipped straight to Standard 5.
For those who believed PTS should be abolished because of the pressure, well guess what? The pressure only come from from the parents and teachers.
The Chinese girl got 5As in UPSR. So did I. What's the problem then?
It would be nice if PTS is still around but looking at the trend nowadays, how parents are so eager to see their children succeed in school [some started to send their children to private kindergarten at the age of 2] maybe the pressure from parents would spoil the child's future, ya know?
And, it would be awesome to put in your CV; 'skipped a grade'.
Walaweyh, nice!
In my case, a big chunk of my primary school life was spent in Kelantan.
Sekolah Kebangsaan Tanjong Mas, Taman Uda Murni, Kelantan.
The teachers decided that only the students from the brightest class (3 Bestari) will be sitting for PTS.
If my memory served me well, PTS exam questions were a bit IQ-test like. Just a simple one.
Apparently, SKTM has a track record of one successful student each year. Only one.
It freaks me out, man!
The year before, it was the Chinese girl. And my batch, sure enough the tradition was continued.
I was the only one who passed and skipped straight to Standard 5.
For those who believed PTS should be abolished because of the pressure, well guess what? The pressure only come from from the parents and teachers.
The Chinese girl got 5As in UPSR. So did I. What's the problem then?
It would be nice if PTS is still around but looking at the trend nowadays, how parents are so eager to see their children succeed in school [some started to send their children to private kindergarten at the age of 2] maybe the pressure from parents would spoil the child's future, ya know?
And, it would be awesome to put in your CV; 'skipped a grade'.
Walaweyh, nice!
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