NST Online: HISTORY will be among subjects offered for candidates sitting their Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia Ulangan (SPMU) examinations from 2014, said Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.Source: NST Online KUALA LUMPUR: History will become a must-pass subject for Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) beginning 2013, Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin announced today.
Muhyiddin said the decision was made to give students an opportunity to achieve better results in their Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM).
"Currently, only Bahasa Malaysia and Mathematics are offered to candidates who wish to re-sit their SPM," he told Senator Datuk Dr Yeow Chai Thiam in Dewan Negara yesterday.
Muhyiddin, who is also education minister, said the format for the examination would also be revised to provide motivation to students during History lessons in class.
"There will be a number of new initiatives for the History subject when students sit their SPM in 2013, to avoid remaining in the same sphere as before.
"This is to ensure that History will have a more effective impact and not just be based on examination results alone."
In October, the government announced that apart from Bahasa Malaysia, History would also become a compulsory-pass subject for SPM, begining in 2013.
Muhyiddin added that although History would become a must-pass subject by 2013, the ministry would continue to use the same syllabus until 2017 because those in Form One during that time would be sitting their SPM.
"Once the new syllabus starts for Form One students in 2014, they will become the first batch of students to sit for the new History subject in 2018.
"The purpose of the move is to give the ministry time to allow teachers to adjust to the new syllabus."
He said the ministry would also set up a committee to study the new History syllabus to ensure a comprehensive coverage of the subject. -- Bernama
This will give the subject a similar status as Bahasa Malaysia for the SPM exams, he said at the Umno General Assembly here today.
Muhyiddin, who is also Umno deputy president, also announced that the replacement of PMR (Penilaian Menengah Rendah) exams with a school-based assessment system will be brought forward to 2014, instead of 2016 as earlier announced.
A school-based assessment was found to be more suitable for students in Malaysia’s 7,000 secondary schools. Such an assessment, which has been carried out in 550 schools nationwide since 2008, was found to be the preferred choice of many.
These are among the recommendations in a report on the proposal to abolish both examinations. The move is part of the government’s efforts to restructure the education system, which is perceived to be too exam-oriented.
Source: The Star Online KUALA LUMPUR: History will be a must-pass subject in Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination from 2013 along with the Bahasa Malaysia subject, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said.
With the move, students must pass the subject to be able to obtain the SPM certificate, said Muhyiddin, who is the Education Minister.
“We need to give them (students) some time to adjust. We also need time to train teachers and to prepare our students to face the new system," he said in his winding-up speech at the 2010 Umno General Assembly, here Saturday.
He also said that from 2014, history would be made a core subject in primary school under the Primary School Standard Curriculum.
He said the ministry would also make improvement to the subject, with emphasis on enhancing the understanding of the constitution so as to enlighten students about the country's nation-building process.
He also said that the implementation of the school-based assessment system, which would replace the Penilaian Menengah Rendah (PMR), would be brought forward from 2016 to 2014 following calls for the assessment system to be expedited.
"The UPSR (Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah) examination will be retained but will undergo improvement based on current development. But we still need some time to retrain the teachers and so on," he said.
Muhyiddin said the ministry would also channel RM10mil to fund activities of Yayasan Guru Malaysia Berhad, a foundation set up to take care of the welfare of teachers.
"I've brought up this matter with the prime minister and he agrees that RM10mil be channelled to foundation," he said, adding that another foundation, Yayasan Guru Tun Hussein Onn, would be set up, also to care for the welfare of teachers.
"A total of RM200mil of fund will be channelled to the foundation," he added.
He also said that the ministry would implement the Primary School Standard Curriculum with emphasis on hands-on learning, language ability and fun learning, from next year.
The ministry also planned to increase the intake of vocational students to 81,000 students or 20% by 2015 compared to 40,706 students or 10% at the moment, he said.
"A total of RM340mil will be allocated for this purpose under the 10th Malaysia Plan (10MP)," he said, adding that four vocational schools would be built during the 10MP (2011-2015).
To enhance competency among vocational teachers, the ministry would train 4,764 teachers to achieve at least Level 3 in the Malaysian Skills Certificate from next year, he added. - Bernama
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