Despite repeated appeals to the Education Ministry over the past three months, the nine standard six students studying at the original site of SJK(C) Damansara are still unclear on whether they could sit for a compulsory government examination scheduled for September.

Academic supervisor KS Lee told malaysiakini that the closing date to sign up for Ujian Pernilaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) had already expired in late February.

"The parents are worried that their children may not be able to sit for UPSR, which is important for them to further (their) studies at secondary schools next year," he said.

He said the parents had earlier sent a letter to seek a dialogue with Education Minister Musa Mohamed who was quoted in Chinese newspapers on March 29 as saying that the students are entitled to sit for the UPSR.

However, there has been no response from the minister to date. Thus, a second letter was sent again this week to request for a meeting with him on next Tuesday, added Lee.

The original site of the Chinese primary school situated in Section17, Petaling Jaya was closed down by the government early last year and the school was relocated to nearby Tropicana, under the instruction of the Selangor state education department.

While supporting the construction of the new school, many parents however claimed that they were not informed about the closure of the original site. They cited historical ties of SJK(C) Damansara to the local community and insisted to maintain the school in their neighbourhood.

Subsequently, an action group called Save Our School (SOS) committee was formed. They have since set up temporary classrooms using air-conditioned containers at a nearby temple and hired their own teachers.

A total of 59 students, including the nine in standard six, are currently studying there. The new school in Tropicana was completed last September and has been operating since.

Application rejected

According to Lee, when SOS wanted to register their standard six students for UPSR at the new school in February, the application was rejected immediately by the headmaster who cited a directive from the state education department.

He said the committee then sought for an explanation from the authority and were told that the students concerned could not sit for the examination because they belong to a school which is not acknowledged by the government.

"We then wrote to Deputy Education Minister Hon Choon Kim for help," he said.

Lee said Hon then asked the parents to appeal to the state education department, which they did on March 27.

He added the state education department early last month, however, claimed that the matter had been referred to Musa and asked the parents to deal directly with the minister.

Since then, SOS had constantly contacted the ministry but was given different excuses on why the meeting had not been scheduled.

"First we were told that it was being taken care of. Then they said the minister was overseas; and the last time we called, they asked us to refer to the state education department as they have not received anything from it," said Lee.

Not serious

When asked, he said the parents felt that the authorities were just trying to delay the matter and evade their responsibilities.

"They are either not taking the thing seriously or are just inefficient," he said.

UPSR is a compulsory examination for all primary students before they proceed with secondary education. There are four common subjects, namely, Science, Mathematics, Bahasa Melayu and English.

For national type schools which use either Mandarin or Tamil as the teaching medium, students are required to sit for two extra papers — comprehension and essay writing in their respective mother-tongue.