Restoring balance and benchmarks in Malaysia’s education system

FOR many years, Malaysia’s education system was guided by a structured sequence of national examinations that provided clarity and direction from a child’s first year of primary school until the end of pre-university study. Students prepared first for Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) at the end of primary schooling, then Penilaian Menengah Rendah (PMR) at the midpoint of secondary education, and later Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) and Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia (STPM) at the final stages of their schooling.

These examinations formed a coherent framework that lent rhythm to the learning journey, created shared expectations across the nation, and provided parents, teachers and policymakers with meaningful, standardised indicators of student development. They were never merely academic hurdles; they were milestones that helped children understand their progress and their next steps.

This structure changed dramatically over the last decade. PMR was abolished in 2014 and replaced with Pentaksiran Tingkatan 3 (PT3), UPSR was abolished in 2021 while PT3 itself was discontinued in 2022. These reforms were introduced in the hope of creating a more holistic, less examination-driven education landscape. The belief was that reducing formal tests would ease pressure on young children, free teachers to adopt more creative approaches, and discourage the rote learning associated with high-stakes exams. Yet as the years passed, the consequences of removing these early national benchmarks became increasingly apparent. Rather than alleviating pressure, the absence of structured checkpoints has concentrated stress at a single point, SPM. Students now confront an examination of enormous significance at an age when academic gaps are more difficult to address, with far fewer opportunities for early identification and intervention.

It is therefore notable that the Ministry of Education, under the current administration, has begun recalibrating the system in a manner that implicitly acknowledges the importance of national benchmarks. The government has announced that, beginning in 2026, a standardised Year Four learning assessment will be introduced across primary schools. Covering Bahasa Melayu, English, Mathematics, Science and History, this assessment, administered by the Malaysian Examinations Board, aims to strengthen early learning foundations. By identifying weaknesses before they become entrenched, it offers teachers and parents a clear sense of whether children are acquiring the essential competencies needed for the later years of schooling.

A second development will follow in 2027 with the introduction of a national Form Three Learning Measurement. This assessment will provide a checkpoint at the end of lower secondary education, giving schools the information necessary to guide students into suitable upper secondary pathways. While it stops short of replicating PT3 or PMR in their earlier forms, the principle behind it is unmistakably similar: to offer a reliable measure of learning at a crucial transitional stage. Together, these initiatives reflect a broader shift away from the assumption that continuous school based assessment alone can sustain a complex national education system. Instead, they represent a return, albeit gradual, to the understanding that clear, standardised assessments remain necessary for ensuring equity, accountability and coherence.

Far from weakening the case for reinstating UPSR and PMR in modernised forms, these new developments reinforce it. The introduction of Year Four and Form Three assessments demonstrates that policymakers recognise the limitations of an entirely exam-free early education landscape. They confirm what many teachers have observed since the abolition of UPSR and PT3: that without national benchmarks, disparities widen, discipline declines and academic weaknesses go undetected for too long. The new assessments mark an important step forward but they also highlight the need for a more comprehensive and integrated system that restores the structured progression Malaysia once had.

It remains to be seen whether the new measures can fully perform the functions once carried out by UPSR and PMR. UPSR served as a national assurance that every child had acquired basic literacy and numeracy before progressing to secondary school. Its removal has made it considerably more difficult for teachers to identify students who lack foundational reading and writing skills. Many children now enter Year Seven still struggling with competencies that were previously assessed and reinforced earlier, leaving them to face increasingly complex subjects without the necessary preparation. PMR, for its part, acted as an essential midpoint assessment. By offering a national reference point at Form Three, it helped guide students in choosing academic or vocational tracks, provided an early signal of academic strengths and weaknesses, and shaped the support schools provided in the upper secondary years.

One of the most important functions of national examinations, and one that has become more conspicuous in their absence, is their ability to ensure fairness in a diverse education landscape. Malaysia’s schools vary widely in terms of resources, teacher experience, class size and access to enrichment opportunities. National benchmarks provide a shared yardstick that ensures every child, regardless of postcode, ethnicity or socio-economic background, is assessed against the same standards. Without these benchmarks, evaluation becomes dependent on the practices of individual schools. A student’s grade may reflect local expectations more than actual mastery, and parents have no reliable way of comparing performance beyond their own school’s boundaries. This variability in standards undermines public confidence and makes it harder for policymakers to identify where gaps truly lie.

Malaysia’s social conditions make the absence of standardised assessments even more consequential. Unlike countries with strong reading cultures and abundant home learning support, Malaysia exhibits wide variation in parental involvement and early childhood literacy. Many children depend heavily on schools to provide the structure, discipline and academic reinforcement required for success. Without external milestones, these children may drift, unaware of where they stand or what is expected of them. Teachers, too, face challenges when trying to motivate students in a system that lacks clear, nationally recognised goals. The assumption that removing examinations would automatically cultivate self-directed learners overlooks the reality that such habits require years of guided practice, not sudden independence.

Concerns about stress, although valid, must be understood within a broader context. Stress becomes harmful when excessive or unmanaged but mild academic pressure can cultivate resilience, perseverance and a sense of responsibility. Examinations, when well designed and calibrated appropriately, create opportunities for students to demonstrate growth, practise revision skills and experience the satisfaction of achieving a meaningful milestone. Pressure remains even when examinations are removed; it often transforms into more diffuse, lingering anxiety about the unknown. Parents and students may worry silently about progress in the absence of concrete indicators, and challenges may remain hidden until upper secondary school, when the stakes are far higher.

The notion that examinations inevitably promote rote learning underestimates the power of good assessment design. Nations with rigorous, thinking-based examination systems such as Singapore, South Korea and parts of Europe demonstrate that it is entirely possible to create exams that reward conceptual understanding and analytical skill. Rote learning is a symptom of weak pedagogy or poorly designed examinations, not a structural inevitability. If Malaysia develops examinations that test comprehension, reasoning and application, teachers will naturally adjust their methods to promote deeper learning.

School based assessments, although valuable, are unable to bear the full weight of a national system. They rely heavily on teacher judgement, which varies not only between schools but also within schools. They may be influenced by resource disparities, parental pressure or attempts to present the school favourably. National examinations offer an essential counterbalance by providing external, standardised perspectives on student performance. They generate reliable data that allow for nationwide analysis, enabling policymakers to identify underperforming regions, deploy resources more intelligently and shape reforms grounded in evidence rather than conjecture.

Holistic education remains a vital goal but it must rest on a bedrock of academic competence. Creativity, collaboration, leadership and communication flourish best when students possess strong literacy, numeracy and critical thinking skills. National examinations help ensure that these fundamentals remain a core focus, particularly for students who might otherwise fall behind quietly. Concerns about unhealthy competition often arise but removing examinations simply shifts competition into less transparent arenas such as tuition centres or school reputations. Standardised examinations, for all their imperfections, remain one of the fairest tools for distinguishing merit.

Teacher autonomy is important, yet autonomy without benchmarks risks becoming directionless. Teachers require clear indicators of what students should know by specific stages, both to plan lessons and to evaluate their own effectiveness. Policymakers, too, need reliable data to identify disparities and refine planning. Without national benchmarks, accountability becomes fragmented, and gaps widen without clear visibility.

In this context, the new Year Four and Form Three assessments represent more than administrative reforms. They signal a renewed recognition that Malaysia needs structured benchmarks to sustain a healthy education ecosystem. Restoring UPSR and PMR in modernised, humane forms would advance rather than reverse progress, strengthening the architecture of assessment by aligning early, middle and upper secondary checkpoints. The combination of national diagnostics and modernised examinations would create a balanced, integrated structure that supports students from their earliest years until graduation.

Examinations provide rhythm and purpose to schooling. They create moments of achievement, reflection and transition. Without them, learning risks becoming an unfocused continuum lacking the sense of progression that motivates young people. The decision to abolish UPSR and PMR was rooted in optimism about holistic learning but the case for modernised reinstatement rests firmly on evidence and experience. Children require structure, teachers require benchmarks, parents require clarity and the nation requires reliable data. Updated national examinations, thoughtfully designed and accompanied by supportive reforms, can provide this structure without compromising creativity or wellbeing.

Ultimately, what Malaysia needs is balance. It requires a system that cultivates character while safeguarding academic rigour, encourages creativity while ensuring core competencies, and celebrates holistic development while maintaining standards. Restoring modernised early and middle benchmarks would help the country achieve that balance by giving students clear points of reference as they progress through their schooling. In doing so, it would ensure that every child moves forward with guidance, confidence and a fair opportunity to succeed.

Dr Richard A. Gontusan is a Human Resource Skills Training and Investment Consultant. He once served as an English Teacher at the Sabah Tshung Tsin Secondary School, Kota Kinabalu. His views expressed in this article are not necessarily the views of The Borneo Post