The government must stop making guinea pigs out of Form 3 students and respond to the avalanche of complaints over the confused implementation of Pentaksiran Tingkatan 3 (PT3), the replacement for Penilaian Menengah Rendah (PMR), said Serdang MP Ong Kian Ming.

Ong said he has received several complaints from parents, teachers and students who appear lost over the new assessment system, which was only announced in March 31 this year and hastily rolled out.

“I urge Education Ministers Muhyiddin Yassin and Idris Jusoh  to stop making our Form 3 students PT3 guinea pigs and ensure the proper implementation of PT3,” he told a press conference at the DAP headquarters this morning.

Ong ( left ) highlighted several complaints on Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s Facebook page where the premier had wished all the best to the first batch of students taking the PT3 exams.

Among the feedback was from one Sarala Poobalan which read: “Students took two years to understand UPSR format, two years for SPM format, 1.5 years for STPM. How long was given to Form 3 students to understand PT3? Less than two weeks.

“They have not even learnt how to crawl and are already expected to run.”

Another user, Nurizam Ibrahim, said the assessment should only be started next year starting from Form 1, while another parent by the name of Kevin YN Ho said he was considering sending his son to a private school even though it will be a serious financial strain.

“Whatever happens (mati-mati), I will defend my son’s future and I’m sure you will do the same as a responsible father,” he said.

Ong said after PT3 was announced in March, teachers, parents and students were briefed between April and June and students began sitting for the assessment on July 1.

‘Najib oblivious to PT3 woes’

The assessments affects some half a million Form 3 students and 63,000 Form 3 teachers in 2,376 secondary schools, he said.

“It is disgraceful that Najib has the gall to wish students all the best... but at the same time not being aware of all the problems in implementing PT3.

“As a result, our students are made to suffer together with the teachers and parents,” he said.

Ong said feedback from students also showed that teachers were still unclear about PT3 and were only able to brief them at the very last minute, albeit giving inconsistent information.

He urged the setting-up of an emergency task force at the Education Ministry with a dedicated hotline to answer PT3-related questions and complaints, pointing out that the current website for that purpose was not functioning.

He added that there has to be proper oversight to avoid potential bias such as different standards of exam papers and  marking.

PT3, unlike PMR, decentralises the assessments of Form 3 students to the respective school, with supervision from the Examinations Board.

While subjects like English and Bahasa Melayu still maintain the same element of written and oral test, subjects like Geography and History require coursework and case study essays.

He added that a special committee should also be set up to ensure the proper implementation of PT3 next year.

Ong said he will forward these concerns to Education Mnister II Idris Jusoh through his press secretary Danial Rahman.