Following recent articles by Utusan Malaysia on the declining quality of young Malaysian students, many netizens have called for the government to bring back UPSR that was abolished in 2021.
TV3 host and producer, Fedtri Yahya reposted a screenshot on Twitter of one of the news articles titled “Fully Residential School (SBP) admission test is trivial causing selected students to be not of good quality.”
Jadi, kena kembalikan UPSR? pic.twitter.com/5p8k6bSoDI
— Fedtri Yahya (@fedtriyahya) May 8, 2023
SBP and MARA Junior Science Colleges (MRSM) are schools that are known to be of high prestige, carrying our nation’s most intelligent and talented students due to their enrolment requirements.
Fedtri Yahya who has over 352.9k followers on his account reposted the screenshot in his Tweet that wrote “So, have to bring back UPSR?” implying that UPSR can be a better fitting benchmark to raise quality students compared to the SBP admission test.
The news article also mentioned an unnamed SBP principal saying that the entry tests do not wholly reflect students’ true capabilities compared to UPSR, further raising concerns that Malaysian youth are not as academically intelligent as their seniors.
Since the abolishment of UPSR in 2021, SBP and MRSM schools have no choice but to focus more on cognitive and mental intelligence tests rather than a nationwide standardised academic test as entry requirements for their potential students.
The popular media personality’s tweet triggered a swarm of Malaysian netizens to voice their opinion on the issue. Many of the comments agreed that bringing back UPSR could help raise the standards of Malaysian school students.
“In my opinion, studying without exams is like working without targets and KPIs. There is no catalyst to achieve better standards. At least when there is an exam, there is a value to the level of understanding and learning.”
“Yes, have to bring it back. I tutor SBP Form 1-3 students and their math is very weak. How did they qualify to enter SBP?”
“Agreed, in the past, admission to SBP was based on UPSR result and on top of that there is another eligibility examination for admission, meaning the screening process is first based on UPSR result, so that those who are truly qualified will enter SBP and UPSR is also an important step to start their secondary school.”
“Conduct UPSR again, students will have a bit more spirit to study”
“Agreed, without UPSR, there’s no direction for our children”
Another netizen wrote that “The majority seems like they agree (for UPSR to be brought back). But when it comes back, don’t itch to ask to cancel it again.”
While exams can be stressful, could the right amount actually help raise the quality of Malaysia’s youth? What do you think of this situation? Share your opinions in the comments!
Also Read: WATCH: Schoolboys Destroy Textbooks by Ripping Out Its Pages as Celebration For Finishing Exam
