UPSR to be maintained to gauge students' achievement - Muhyiddin

The Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) will be maintained to gauge the six-year achievement of students in primary school, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said on Tuesday.

He said the UPSR examination would be able to gauge the extent of the students' acceptance of lessons taught by their teachers, especially in key subjects.

"Whatever the results, they will still go to Form One, but parents want to know where (level) they stand. So, that is why we continue with the policy that we have long implemented," he said.

He told reporters this after a visit to Sekolah Kebangsaan Presint 16 (2) where 82 students are sitting for the examination at the school.

It was imperative to evaluate students' progress at primary school level before they move on to secondary school, he said.

"They will continue to be guided through the school-based evaluation (Pentaksiran Berasaskan Sekolah - PBS) which we implement. Hopefully, this will produce brighter students and with higher order thinking skills," he said.

Muhyiddin, who is also Education Minister, said the UPSR examination, which began today, went smoothly at 8,299 examination centres nationwide.

He wished the 472,853 students who sat for the UPSR examination good luck and hoped they would focus on it.

He also expressed his appreciation for the Education Ministry officers, especially teachers, who had sacrificed a lot to improve the students' performance.

"We hope this year's UPSR result will be better than the previous years," he added.