Bernama
November 19, 2009 16:39 PM
PUTRAJAYA, Nov 19 (Bernama) — The education ministry’s first Aptitude Test for Year Six students during their UPSR exams has shown that only 5.7 per cent (29,084 students) out of 509,885 pupils are skilled at problem solving and decision making, and only 34.34 per cent (175,101) in skilled thinking.
Education Director-General Tan Sri Alimuddin Mohd Dom This said today that this indicated that the children needed more training on problem-solving and decision-making.
Speaking at a press conference here on Thursday, he explained that the Aptitude Test was divided into two dimensions, namely Skilled Thinking and Problem Solving and Decision-Making .
Alimuddin said a student’s aptitude level was then categorised from Band One (lowest skilled) to Band Four (highest skilled).
The test results have found that when it comes to problem solving and decision making, the majority of Year Six students which is 47.71 per cent (243,258 students) remained in Band Two, followed by 28.24 per cent (143,971 students) in Band Three and 18.35 per cent (93,572 students) in Band One.
On the other hand, the majority of Skilled Thinking students lies in Band Three at 41.04 per cent (209,244 students), followed by 20.71 per cent (105,580 students) in Band Two and 3.91 per cent (19,960) in Band One.
The test also categorised a student’s interest into Academic, Technical and Vocational, Arts, Sports and Culture and Society, ranking them from One (primary interest) to Five (least interest).
There is a 39.31 per cent high tendency of candidates towards the academic, followed by technical and vocational (29.25 per cent), arts (19.26 per cent), culture and social (9.72 per cent) and sport (2.57 per cent).
— BERNAMA
#1 by -ec- on Friday, 20 November 2009 - 10:06 am
what kind of problem a 12yo needs to solve? what kind of decision a 12yo needs to make? a rough look at the band 1-4 results, it seems normally distributed.
do not miss the important result of:
“There is a 39.31 per cent high tendency of candidates towards the academic, followed by technical and vocational (29.25 per cent), arts (19.26 per cent), culture and social (9.72 per cent) and sport (2.57 per cent).”
is our present education system (secondary upwards) put too much emphasis in academic? if assume that only 39% will continue to do well, what about the rest of 71%? i think at primary school level, cultivation of interests should be more prioritize than cultivation of exam-machines. and secondary level upwards should provide a good connection, a chance for the pupils to continue to excel in whatever they are good at or they choose to do.
#2 by Dap man on Friday, 20 November 2009 - 10:33 am
The teachers themselves are half-baked and low achievers in SPM, STPM and varsity. The good ones are given scholarships to go abroad and do other courses. The weak ones become teachers.
I know some Math teachers have to run to the seniors even to solve simple puzzles. In some cases the smart students can teach the teachers.
What can you expect when some teachers obtained a CGPA of a mere 2.0 +?
#3 by Taxidriver on Friday, 20 November 2009 - 10:43 am
What more can we expect from mere year six students when our prime ministers and ministers cannot think or speak rationally. These are not year six students, mind you. Some are fathers with grown-up children while many more are already grandfathers, yet they not only cannot solve problems, but instead create more problems.
Again, talking about skills in solving problems and ability to think and speak intelligently, what for????
Look at Najib, Mooo, Hiss, Nasi Lee and all those UMNOputras with pea brains yet can become Malaysian leaders. Mat rempits and snatch thieves just have to join UMNO Baru ( Dr. Mahathir’s party ), and when they get older, stand for elections, win and get a datukship, become UMNO Baru leaders and become multi-millionairs just by portraying themselves to be champions of the Malays so that they can rob the people’s noney and the Malays do not really mind at all.
#4 by tenaciousB on Friday, 20 November 2009 - 11:12 am
i personally never believed in the national exams, they are rigged and manipulated. In the past names had to be writted down and therefore they would know of your non malay ethnicity and therefore bias in their markings.
Therefore getting straight A’s in national exam means nothing.
#5 by Winston on Friday, 20 November 2009 - 11:12 am
Taxidriver, you’ve said it!
In fact, many ordinary citizens have far, far better capability in solving problems than any of the so-called ministers.
They are only good in fighting each other for the crumbs while UMNO eat the main course!
The Sun newspapers portrayed two “senior” MCA politicians crying because they were sacked!
Remember, many UMNO/BN politicians can afford to smile and laugh when they were accused of scams, knowing that nothing will come out of them.
But when they lose their piece of juicy meat, they’ll cry!!
So, do anyone of you want such people to be “leaders”?
#6 by limkamput on Friday, 20 November 2009 - 12:44 pm
Come on, whoever wrote this piece is only insulting the standard 5 pupils. You should look at the universities. Not 5% of the graduates possess problem solving skill. Not only that, they can’t even write one essay coherently. Test it out; I am willing to wager with anyone.
#7 by undertaker888 on Friday, 20 November 2009 - 12:56 pm
//ministers cannot think or speak rationally…
what to do? even the Deputy education minister Fuad or Puad says that speaking english is weird. BM should be implemented in private sector as well he said..
i would like Puad to translate “joystick” for me in BM…what is it? What? Huh?
BATANG GEMBIRA…yeah, i would like to give him one of those…bodoh!!
#8 by boh-liao on Friday, 20 November 2009 - 1:04 pm
29,084 students out of 509,885 pupils r skilled at problem solving n decision making
Hey, hallelujah, not bad leh
They must be the crème de la crème
Better than many ministers, MPs, state assemblymen, n civil servants
Who sound n look kepala kosong
#9 by pwcheng on Friday, 20 November 2009 - 1:35 pm
Lets not be jubilant about the high court ruling. UMNO has now a new device to make you eat your own words. Remember the high court declaring in favor of Nizar to be immediately overturned by the appeal court. This will be not too far a difference , maybe not at such lightning speed as happened in the Nizar’s case. This is UMNO’s new opera show so that UMNO can tell us we are not consistent in our perception of the judiciary.
#10 by Bigjoe on Friday, 20 November 2009 - 1:41 pm
BUT this is what BN wants! IF we can think for ourselves, most would not vote BN..Why would BN want us to be able to think???
#11 by k1980 on Friday, 20 November 2009 - 1:49 pm
See how BN solved their problems:-
1) C4 all those who came chasing for what is owed to them
2) Sack those colleagues who threaten their positions
3) Milk the country dry while still in power
4) Buy over opposition elected reps
5) Use the police, macc, judiciary to perpetuate grip on power
#12 by frankyapp on Friday, 20 November 2009 - 1:50 pm
Hi Taxidriver,your right,just watch local TV channels,ministers and the likes ,look at their mouths,a sentence is broken into part BM and part EN.These guys yep look like and sound like kepalakosong liken boh-liao said.Hence our 12 year old kids would decide and ape it.Now EC you know what a 12 yr old can decide and solve.
#13 by ENDANGERED HORNBILL on Friday, 20 November 2009 - 2:19 pm
I never wish to be rude.
But, putting it acrross as honestly and gently as I can, if these blokes in the ministry and the UMNO clowns that run the show even know anything about what is educational excellence, then the whole country wouldn’t be as damned as it is today.
The only hope for salvation rests in a total regime change. UMNO and the crazy bunch have to be removed and PR must get its act together and bring in technocrats and real educators to save our lads and lasses. Where corruption persists to drain the coffers meant for academic investment, then all’s doomed! And so it was and is and will be if UMNO and gang don’t get lost.
#14 by tenaciousB on Friday, 20 November 2009 - 2:36 pm
Our education system was good before the era of mahathir, since mamakthir became the education minister, he ruined the standards.
So if there’s anyone to be blamed it’s Tun mahathir mohammed. Just before he leaves the office he probably felt bad for the people he cheated and disadvantaged, so the goodwill he envisaged was to change science and maths back to the english medium.
But since BN nearly lost the last GE, they realised it’s going to get tougher for them from now on cause the people are gettin smarter and it’s fundamental if BN were to stay in power they need stupid citizens, so now the strategy is to change maths and science back to malay. Good luck fools!
#15 by artemisios on Friday, 20 November 2009 - 2:42 pm
lol.. undertaker, the batang gembira part is really funny…
Tell you fellas what.. you know the 5.7% kids that are capable of problem solving?
I can GUARANTEE you that those kids are either naturally smarter or have really good parents or are very proactive kids themselves
THEY ARE NOT THE PRODUCT OF OUR EDUCATION SYSTEM!
In other words, they are capable of problem solving not because our education system has a 5.7% success rate, but the kids, or their parents were proactive & hardworking enough
& don’t even ask me the actual success rate of our education system…
#16 by frankyapp on Friday, 20 November 2009 - 3:01 pm
You know Endangered Hornbill,you are absolutely correct,under Umno/Bn regime,doom is obvious .Question is how much can we depend on PR ? Yep,PR must get its self together but how and when ? PR leaders are tearing up the ” Pakatan ” instead of like you said get its act together. You know,some PR members have sold their soul to the BN eg Perak State.Currently PR Selangor is shaky,someone has left PR,more to follow through the “frog sysdrome”.Penang,the most staple PR state control government is feeling the shake now.All these indicated that PR is not the PR we all expected .PR leaders should stop thinking they are still in the opposition,instead should think and act they are in control of 4 state government and are looking and aiming forward to control the whole country ie the federal government in the next general election in the interest of the rakyat,ie to help and offer to the rakyat an alternative federal government by getting rid of the present corrupted Umno/Bn regime.PR must not behave like Umno/Bn because “two bad cannot make one good “. or liken the saying “two wrong cannot make one right “.
#17 by taiking on Friday, 20 November 2009 - 4:46 pm
Wot skills? Wot problem solving? If you ask a yr 6 kid a question like this:
You have a box that can fill 100 apples. You needed the box full of apples for a party but you have only 40 apples. Wot do you do?
Kids of umnoputras would say: “Easy. Just a phone call away. I will ask my dad’s secretary to call pakcik apapunboleh bin macammacampunada for the 60 apples. And it will be free.”
Kids of well connected non-umnoputras would say: “I will ask my friend the kid-of-umnoputra for help. I will give some ice-cream and chocolates. I will be easy.”
Kids of the rest: “Huh? I am pharked real good man!”
#18 by cemerlang on Saturday, 21 November 2009 - 11:58 pm
In a way, it is good news because this shows that the kids still rely on their parents to solve problems and make decisions and it also means that the relationship between the kid and the parents is good. Kids are only expected to solve problems and make decisions that are directly related to them. They cannot be expected to do what the adults can do. The test should be compatible with their mental age. Kids should not grow up too early. Even students in tertiary education or in universities do not really know how to solve problems and make decisions. Many just keep quiet and expect the final ruling by the teaching staff. It can also be due to their culture which tells them that it is rude for youngsters to express too much of themselves. This is Asian culture. Not the Western one. It does take skill to solve problems and make decisions. Without the skill or the art of it, it will be like the bitter internal fighting in MCA.