FEB 20 — PAGE is of the opinion that PBS (School Based Assessment or Pentaksiran Berasaskan Sekolah) is a good plan in its aim but has proven to be deficient in totality to replace the examination based system. Therefore we recommend that until a thorough comprehensive plan for PBS is properly laid out, modelled to an already working system elsewhere in the world and piloted to scale, PBS should be put on hold until all the kinks are ironed out.

The PBS system is a total system overhaul compared to all the other numerous changes that we have had so far. Yet, it is done rather hurriedly and without proper supervision. There are too many uncertainties with PBS. Parents are sceptical of such a system due to unanswered questions such as, how is PBS going to maintain a consistent marking system across the board? What acceptable measures are taken to guard against biasness? What is the benchmark needed for admittance into residential schools or other non national schools? No teachers or the examination syndicate members have managed to answer these questions convincingly. PBS requires that teachers evaluate each student individually. This can cause inconsistent marking. Not only are teachers not used to such a marking scheme, but teacher evaluation is subjective and varies among different teachers and schools. In addition, a real sore point with teachers is that PBS evaluation comes with a huge baggage of administrative and clerical chores in the method of reporting students’ progress. This method of reporting is also questionable.

We agree that teachers should not be overwhelmed with these administrative tasks. They should be focused on one thing, which is teaching our children. Any other chores that take away their classroom and lesson preparation time will not benefit our children.

The reasons behind the success of tuition centres are quite clear. The teachers do what they are meant to do, that is to teach 100per cent of the time allocated. Tuition centres also tend to have smaller classes and have autonomy over the way they are run as well as their housekeeping. It is unlikely that tuition centres would tolerate ineffective or dysfunctional teachers. Financial factors aside, the success of tuition centres should therefore be studied and be copied as we progress towards a more decentralised system.

Lessons can also be learnt from the 10 trust schools of Yayasan Amir of Khazanah Nasional Berhad. Even the 10 trust schools piloting differentiated classroom teaching but using the same curriculum gets constant supervision, as opposed to the 10,000 national schools undergoing a complete shift of teaching policy and moving aimlessly without proper implementation or preparation. Teachers need the proper intervention, mentorship and guidance so they understand fully what needs to be done and the supporting infrastructure must be in place too.

Hence, until such time that the Ministry and its various branches have a proper direction and ability to ensure the success of the policy, PBS should be put on hold. Schools and the Ministry must be held accountable for their performance. No policy implemented will ever be successful if no one is held accountable for its failures. We wish all the best to SGMM, Suara Guru Masyarakat Malaysia in their bid to convince the Ministry of their demands at their peaceful rally this coming Saturday 22nd February 2014.

For further information on PAGE, go here.

* Parent Action Group for Education (PAGE) is an educational lobbyist that serves as a channel between concerned parents, the Ministry of Education and other educational stakeholders. 

** This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malay Mail Online.