SHAH ALAM: Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has called for a review of the education policy on examinations for Primary 6 and Form 3 students.
This, he said, is necessary following revelations that 27 per cent of Year 1 pupils nationwide have problems with reading, writing and counting.
Ahmad Zahid said discussions with the Education and Higher Education ministries had previously identified reading, writing and counting as among why 10,177 students failed to sit for the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination last year.
"I held discussions with Zambry (Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir) and the Education Ministry (to identify the problem), and many (students) were unable to read, write or count.
"This is vital. It is vital that we revamp the education system which now has no Primary 6 and Form 3 examinations," he said while officiating the opening of MIC's 78th annual general assembly here today.
The Primary 6 and Form 3 examinations are seen as measures to assess the academic levels of students before they sit for the SPM in Form 5, which would also determine their field of study in institutions of higher education.
Zahid said educational policies should remain unchanged even if there is a change in government after each general election.
"Do not treat our children as test subjects and make them become victims. Governments can change but policies must be made so that the children do not suffer," he said.
It was previously reported that 122,062 Year 1 pupils for the 2024/2025 academic session have been selected for the ministry's Literacy and Numeracy Intervention Programme through early screening conducted by teachers in July.
Education Ministry director-general Azman Adnan said nearly 28 per cent of the 448,113 Year 1 pupils for the 2024/2025 academic session have not yet mastered reading, writing and counting.
He said of the 122,062 identified Year 1 pupils, 62,928 have yet to master both literacy and numeracy.
Some 45,465 pupils have not yet mastered literacy, while 13,669 have not yet mastered numeracy.