Recently, a few exam papers were leaked. This is actually not an unusual thing in Malaysia. The significance of the occurrence this time though, was that the exam papers that were leaked were UPSR exam papers. A public exam for 12-year-olds. Due to the leak, these poor kids will have to take the exams at a later date instead of enjoying the freedom of having no exams for the next few months. I know that I, for one, would be furious at the people who were responsible for the leak had I been affected by it.
ALL ABOUT THE A'S
The focus on getting A's is apparently more important than actually learning and working hard to achieve results. I think that this is just sad. Getting an A does mean something and is important. I will never say that getting A's are pointless and useless but many teachers (yes, teachers) and students do not understand the significance of actually getting an A in an exam.
A student getting an A in an exam signifies that he or she understands and has taken to heart the knowledge taught to him/her for that particular subject. It also signifies that the teacher has done his/her job. That is the point of taking an exam, isn't it?
Unfortunately, the meaning of taking an exam has been twisted so many ways that it no longer serves its purpose. Then again, what is the purpose of UPSR? It's purpose, if any, is to differentiate those who happen to be able to perform better academically at that particular age from those who aren't as academically inclined. This only serves to show the less academically-gifted a nice middle finger at a point in their lives when they barely even know what is going on in the world.
It is normal for secondary schools, especially in urban areas, to group Form 1 students into classes according to their UPSR results. Again, it only serves to tell the one group that they are better than the other. This really shouldn't be happening. Everyone is good at something and, really, at that age, no one student is actually better than the other.
WHAT IS REALLY WRONG
I am a product of the public school system. I've been through UPSR, PMR and SPM. Now, I am pursuing a degree in the UK. A common sight among Malaysian students (at least where I study) is the reluctance to speak up voluntarily during a discussion in class. I have seen Malaysian students who refuse to even speak when asked a question that they do not know the answer to or when asked for their views on a particular topic. Lecturers get frustrated by this. When lecturers ask questions, they rarely expect a perfect answer, yet that is what the Malaysian public school system has trained Malaysian students to do - to give a perfect answer.
In the race to obtain the most A's possible, many students have lost the ability to fail. To fail in school is to fail at life. At least, that is what is ingrained into so many students' brains nowadays. That is why many of my peers in university do not dare to speak up. The fear of being wrong is what that is preventing them from fulfilling their potential to learn.
Schools, colleges and universities give us the chance to fail and pick ourselves back up. The effects of failure in these environments are rarely permanent. Failure is inevitable. Everyone fails at some point of their life. In fact, lessons learnt through failure often stay with us throughout our lives. Yet, failure is the one thing that the education system is failing to address.
I am not saying that it is desirable to fail but learning to deal with failure when it happens is important. Being able to pick yourself back up after you fail is important. How many times have we heard teachers tell a student who failed that he/she has no hope? Not all teachers are like this, but unfortunately I have heard that "no hope" phrase coming out of a teachers' mouth too many times.
Is this what the education system is? A tool to sieve through the many students and select the elite few who are able to give the perfect answer?
MOVING FORWARD
The move towards school-based assessments is a step in the right direction. In fact, many of the initiatives laid out in the Education Blueprint are a step in the right direction but whether these plans work out, we can only wait and see. These things look good on paper but the way it is implemented is key. Remember PPSMI? No matter how many times it is claimed that Malaysia's education system is one of the best in the world, it is clear that the system needs to be updated.
