KUALA LUMPUR, April 17 — The cancellation of the Ujian Penilaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) for Year Six pupils and Pentaksiran Tingkatan Tiga (PT3) for Form Three students, as well as the postponement of three other public examinations has created various reactions, especially for students and parents.

For students who have been studying hard preparing themselves for the examination, the decision will certainly be a surprise, but for others who are not so serious about their studies, the cancellation or postponement of the examination makes no difference.

Motivation expert Shukri Abdullah said that in this situation, parents should play a role in making the children understand the decision taken by the government in important to break the chain of the Covid-19 infection.

“I see this decision as having a lot of impact on Year Six students because they are shifting to secondary school and some are targeting on going to boarding schools, unlike the Form Three students, where some will move to other schools, while most will continue their Form Four at the same school (after PT3).

“There are Year Six students who are serious in their study and have set their target of going to boarding schools to continue their studies, cried when told the UPSR has been cancelled because they have been studying hard.

 “Parents have to sit and have a slow talk with their children who are still shocked with the cancellation of the examination. Give them (children) words of encouragement,” he said when contacted by Bernama.

On the postponement of public examinations, namely Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM), Sijil Vokasional Malaysia (SVM), Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia (STPM) and Sijil Tinggi Agama Malaysia (STAM), Shukri, who is a former lecturer at the Centre of Social Science Studies, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) in Penang, said it was an apt decision by the government to not cancel them. 

“The public examination, like SPM, is very important because if the students want to continue their studies, to apply for scholarships and to go overseas (for further studies) SPM is imperative,” he added.

However, Shukri said parents still need to make sure their children study at home during the movement control order (MCO) period so that they will not lag behind in their studies.

“Since the school holidays and with the MCO, the children are missing classes. Although, they do online learning, it is not the same as facing the teachers in classrooms, especially for rural students who have limited Internet access.

“The children spend five to six hours a day in school, now that they are at home, parents should make sure they (children) study two hours in the morning, two hours in the afternoon and an hour at night at night if they (parents) do not want their children to be lag behind in their studies,” he added.

Sharing Shukri’s views is Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris’ (UPSI) director of counselling centre, Fauziah Mohd Sa’ad.

She said the decision taken by the government is apt for the safety of all quarters.

“If the examination proceeds, we will have hundreds of students gathered in the examination hall at a time. The potential for the students to be exposed to the virus is high,” she said, adding that students should use the MCO period to study and do their revision.

“Teachers have to be creative and come out with a method on how to helping the students during MCO. The teachers, as well as students, should not regard the MCO as a school holiday,” she added.

A survey in the social media found that parents reacted differently to the announcement on the cancellation of UPSR and PT3 and postponement of the public examination by Education Minister Mohd Radzi Md Jidin yesterday.

Facebook user Suriani Zainol wrote “Alhamdulillah, I and my son are grateful and accept the decision (by the government). We will continue to strive and never give up. We have to study because knowledge is important”.

Sarina Ishak wrote ‘Yesterday my child was disappointed ... this morning he continues with his study based on a timetable he made himself since the MCO...still doing the school work given by the teachers and memorising the (Quranic) verses asked by the ustazah (religious teacher)”.holy supply and memorize the messaging.

Nadiah Md Di wrote: ‘My child cried yesterday after knowing that the UPSR has been cancelled. Pity my child, studying day and night… said cannot go to boarding school then”. — Bernama