Education Ministry needs to revamp system which is exam-oriented, memorisation-based - Expert

SHAH ALAM - The Education Ministry needs to make improvements to the education system in the country, which is still exam-oriented and focused on memorisation.

Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) Centre of Education and Diversity senior lecturer Dr Anuar Ahmad said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's criticism on the country's performance in the Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) 2022 indicated that immediate changes must be made.

He said the ministry needs to emphasise the joy of learning, especially for critical subjects like Mathematics and Science, by reducing the syllabus to make it more flexible and engaging for students.

"The results of Pisa proved that our education system is in a quite deteriorating state. I hope the Education Ministry will make changes immediately by identifying the causes of the decline in our students' performance.

"For example, we are now in the era of AI (artificial intelligence), but our assessment system is still in the old framework that is exam-oriented and based on memorisation. The students who memorise the most are the ones who excel," he told Sinar.

When asked about Malaysia's worst performance among seven Asean countries in the Pisa study, especially in Science, Mathematics and English, Anuar said he was not surprised.

"The most important thing that the ministry needs to do is to bring back the joy of learning Science and Mathematics in primary schools. I don't understand why we want these children to be smart so quickly.

"Why don't we give them the opportunity to adapt and enjoy learning new things, so there is no pressure. The joy of learning Science and Mathematics must be instilled at the primary school level," he said.