By William Isau
SIBU, Nov 20: The intention to implement the Public Assessment (PU) for schools in Sarawak is still in the proposal and ‘engagement’ phase.
Brainstorming is also ongoing with stakeholders including teachers, parents, teachers’ unions and related agencies.
Deputy Minister of Education, Innovation and Talent Development I Sarawak Datuk Dr Annuar Rapaee said, the PU needs to be systematic, equal and fair to test the students’ level of mastery.
“These proposals and wishes have been communicated to the Federal Ministry of Education (KPM) before, but further discussion needs to be done,” he said during a webinar regarding the School Evaluation System in Sarawak together with the Sarawak Teacher Aspiration Organisation (PAGS), yesterday.
The Nangka assemblyman said that the main purpose of the PU is to help schools and students whose performance is less than satisfactory so that early intervention can be done.
Aid such as funds, teaching expertise and facilities will also be channeled to help the schools, he said.
“For SPM results, there is a State Average Grade that helps the parties know which schools need help, but since the abolition of the UPSR, there is no measure for primary schools to detect schools that need intervention.
“This PU also helps evaluate the effectiveness of Sarawak’s bilingual programme (DLP). This programme has been running for four years and a comprehensive evaluation is needed to evaluate the programme. It is seen as two-pronged to Sarawak’s large investment in the DLP agenda,” he explained.
Dr Annuar said that the mastery of 3M (reading, writing and counting) will also be evaluated in the PU for helping students before they proceed to middle school.
Policies and policies implemented in the United States of America such as the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) are among the guidelines and framework used for the introduction of this assessment, he stressed.
According to Dr Annuar, the PU is not about making comparisons between which schools are better but more about elements of assistance and intervention or aspects of continuous improvement to the school.
“This PU is administered by an independent body and the results are recognised nationally and internationally to make it easier for students to continue schooling.
“The existing syllabus will remain the same until the enactment of the new syllabus in 2027. It will be administered centrally to maintain integrity and validity,” he said.
The sequence of implementation of the PU, according to him, will ensure the teachers are not burdened and work is not overlapped as the work is carried out by a third party.
He asked for views and opinions from the community to jointly achieve the hopes and dreams of the PU to achieve the excellence among the children of Sarawak.
“PAGS fully supports this effort for the good of education in the State of Sarawak, but is of the opinion that this assessment does not burden teachers and needs recognition from the Ministry of Education and Culture so that Sarawak’s policies and policies always prioritise Sarawak and help sustain the excellence of Malaysia,” said Dr Annuar. — DayakDaily
