UPM-CALC/CEL2103 WRTING ACADEMIC TEXTS/SEM 2 2017-18/WP/TASK4B

WRITING PORTFOLIO TASK 4B – ACADEMIC TEXT

NAME: NUR NABILA NATASYA BT RAZIF GROUP: 12

MATRIC NO.: 197897

TITLE: Does examination should be abolished?

The system and the impression of examination system means the beginning of fear,
tension, anxiety and stress in the mind of the student. Examination has become one
of the most eerie occasion in the student life. The examination approach has caused
the student to become stressed and depressed resulting in the increase of the
significant number of suicide, mental illness and other psychological disorder. In
other hand, examination is very important to help to determine the academic level of
student and also to test their understanding on certain subject. However, the
examination system bring more disadvantages than advantage to the government,
student and parents.

Examination, as we all had known it, ever since the system introduced, it had
emerged rapidly to be the main aspect of modern education especially in Malaysia.
In an education infrastructure that is as unpredictable as the clouds, it is somewhat
ironic that the system of examinations as a means of judging a student’s ability has
prevailed through the years. Most students are afraid of examinations, but
examinations are very important today. Examinations are important because they
compel students to learn. Without them most students would not learn. So they
would know very little about the world. They would teach only subjects in which they
are interested and ignore the other subjects which are thought to be difficult, though
they are very important in the modern age. Many parents question the move of the
Education Minister Maszlee Malik’s announcement last month that pupils in lower
primary school from Years 1 to 3 would no longer have to sit for examinations from
next year. The parents think that revamped PT3 exam in Form 3 was “so simplified”
that it had led most students to treat it lightly and they questioned if schools would be
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able to track the performance of the pupils and said it would be better to have both
theoretical and practical assessments. The parents think that by having and
examination, the student will put extra effort to study as they know it is important for
their future. (Pillal, 2018). The examination system has cost the government large
amount of money for adjustment, improvement and modification of the system. The
abolishment of examination can help government to reduce the cost. Many changes
and modification had been made by the government to improve the system but little
did they know that not everyone is the same. This changes would cost a lot of money
to the government as the teacher and examiners need to be equipped with the skills
that compatible with the new system. The most drastic changes by the Government
in reforming the examination system began in 2014 when the Education Ministry
replaced the Penilaian Menengah Rendah (PMR) with PT3. It has the same scope
as PMR except it is not a centralised system. Schools prepare their own examination
questions. (Aziz, 2017).

As it is, examinations are timed written or oral assessments held at the end of an
academic term. It serves to asses a student’s knowledge and comprehension of all
the subjects he has studied over the course of the term. Rather than tracking a
student’s progress over the course of the term, it judges their abilities over a handful
of written or oral pieces. This is obviously not an accurate indication of one’s
progress. Examinations help student to have some ideas about their level of
knowledge of certain subjects and the student’s tendency which will help in
determining the right career for them. Accordingly, examination result can help to
give some ideas of what kind of work the candidates capable of doing and whether
they suit the job requirement. According to www.debateble.com, examination is the
only formal system that can help to measure the academic competence and
intelligence to help to discover the scope of a student's ability. This is because
assessment needed to determine the ability levels and the amount of experience and
knowledge students actually possess, otherwise students will be in environments
unsuited to them and would not be able to learn properly. There is no other way to
divide them than by testing them in a fair and impartial manner. Examination system
is suitable as they are not vague and they have clear, measurable guidelines.
Examination causes stress and depression among children and teenagers resulting
to suicide. The high expectation from parents and the society had causing the
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students to feel pressure and stress where if not manage properly can cause
depression which can lead to plenty negative. A national survey has revealed that
Malaysians aged 13 to 17 are critically suffering from mental health problems. One in
five are suffering depression (18.3%), two in five anxiety (39.7%), and one in 10
suffering from stress (9.6%). The number of suicide cases among students may
have something to do with our education system. The exam-oriented culture, which
causes undue stress, not only affects students but teachers as well. (Chonghui,
Menon, & Rajaendram, 2018)

Many students are afraid of examination but examination is important as it compels

student to study and do revision. Without examination, student tend to treat study
lightly. The school also has to create new way or method to assess and be able to
track the performance of the pupils. Examination provide almost all theoretical and
practical assessments. Most of the parents also think that the student will put extra
effort to study as they know it is important for their future. Examination also help to
asses a student’s knowledge their abilities over a handful of written or oral pieces. It
also help the student to determine and give some idea on the path that suits them
the most which will help the student decide the right career for them. In addition, it
also aids the future employer to decide whether the candidates suits the job
requirement and whether they are capable of managing the work. The examination is
a system that need improvement and adjustment to ensure that it compatible with
the current trend and lifestyle. As an example, before this examination can only be
taken at the school hall in a large crowd, but today, there are some exams or tests
that can be taken online, at home or on the go. The need for adjustment and
improvement of the examination system will cost the government large amount of
money. By abolishing the examination, the government can use the budget allocated
to improve the school facilities, learning tools and materials, and also give out
scholarship or fund to help aids the poor student. Modification and adjustment of the
system would take forever as not everyone is the same. Apart from that, there are so
many cases of stress and depression among children and teenagers due to
examination pressure. The pressure of examination has also increase the number of
suicide cases among student especially teenagers. The burden come from the
expectation of the parents and the impression of the society. This lead to suicide,
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and other mental illness. Even though examination is important for the future career
but nothing is more important that the life itself. the purpose of examination is to help
the student but if it causes the someone too much pressure until they decided to take
their own life, then it need to be abolished. The examination brings more
disadvantages than advantages to the government, parents and student.

REFERENCES:

(n.d.). Retrieved from www.debatewise.org: https://debatewise.org/debates/1215-are-

examinations-a-fair-way-of-testing-our-knowledge/#yes1

Aziz, H. (2017, December 20). Retrieved from www.nst.com.my:

https://www.nst.com.my/opinion/columnists/2017/12/316356/revamping-exam-oriented-
system

Chonghui, L., Menon, S., & Rajaendram, R. (2018, 0CTOBER 12). Retrieved from
www.thestar.com.my: https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2018/10/12/too-many-
teens-suffering-from-stress-examoriented-culture-not-only-affecting-students-but-teachers-
a/

Pillal, V. (2018, December 2018). Retrieved from www.freemalaysiatoday.com:

https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2018/12/21/parents-teachers-
question-move-to-end-exams/