The National Union of Teaching Profession (NUTP) has called on the Education Ministry to break its silence on the proposed abolition of the Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR).

Its secretary-general Harry Tan Huat Hock (above) said thus far there had been no progress on the issue, although an agreement to abolish it had been announced by former education minister Mahdzir Khalid in 2016.

“The NUTP has been trying to get feedback from time to time but thus far there has been no response from the ministry," he said.

Tan added that the abolition of UPSR could also reduce the pressure and burden on students, as well as change the perception of some members of the communities that scoring "A" as the benchmark for the quality of a student.

The move does not mean that students will not be evaluated at all, especially with regard to enrollment at the full residential schools (SBP), he said.

“Students will still be evaluated based on their respective schools’ assessments rather than solely on a centralised examination,” he said.

Tan said NUTP was also willing to work with the ministry in improving school-based assessments to have instruments that can assist teachers towards students’ excellence.

“We only hope that NUTP to be involved with the ministry during discussions to finalise the proposal to abolish UPSR," he said.

- Bernama