An academic sees the inaugural dual language programme assessment test (UP-DLP) for Year Six pupils in Sarawak next month as a potential case study for reinstating the abolished UPSR primary school examination.
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) senior lecturer Anuar Ahmad said a centralised assessment would help measure pupils’ mastery of the 3Rs – reading, writing and arithmetic – before they entered secondary school.
He also said that UPSR should have been retained but streamlined to focus on four core subjects – Malay, English, mathematics and science – with other subjects assessed through classroom evaluation.
“We need a standard checkpoint for all pupils. If weaknesses are found, interventions can be made before they enter secondary school,” said Anuar, who is also deputy director of UKM’s Malaysian Inclusive Development and Advancement Institute.
Sarawak deputy education, innovation and talent development minister Annuar Rapaee earlier said that the UP-DLP, to be held on Oct 15 and Occt 16, would cover mathematics, science and English.
He also said it would help the state government identify schools in need of additional support rather than function as a competitive exam.
Anuar said that UPSR, which was abolished in 2021, had been misused as a benchmarking tool between schools and states instead of assessing pupils’ actual performance.
He warned that if pupils did not master the 3Rs by Year Six, they might lose motivation to improve academically in secondary school, which could lead to them dropping out.
Meanwhile, Universiti Putra Malaysia senior lecturer Wan Marzuki Wan Jaafar said that while Sarawak’s initiative could provide useful insight, any decision to revive UPSR should be based on thorough research.
He said centralised tests should serve as diagnostic tools, not competitive measures, and that priority should remain on strengthening classroom assessments and effective interventions.
