IDENTIFYING STUDENTS'POTENTIAL - Time to bring back UPSR, say education experts and ex-ministers

Aug 13, 2026

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Education experts and former education ministers call for reinstating the Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) five years after its abolition, arguing it is crucial for measuring pupils’ academic performance and tracking learning progress. Suggestions include reshaping the exam to use modern tools such as big data, machine learning and AI to identify students’ potential beyond grades. Speakers emphasize that a national exam should complement data-driven assessments rather than replace them, while noting the need to strengthen school-based evaluation.

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Identifying students' potential

Calls to reinstate UPSR

AI and data-driven evaluation

Role of national exams alongside school-based assessment

# SEKTOR DOKUMENTASI PENDIDIKANBPPDP,Kementerian Pendidikan MalaysiaAras SB-4,Blok E8,Kompleks EPusat Pentadbiran Kerajaan Persekutuan 62604 Putrajaya.Tel :03-88846425Faks:03-88846284 TARIKH:8 NOVEMBER 2025(SABTU) UTUSAN M’SIA N.STRAITS TIMES THE STAR SINAR HARIAN # IDENTIFYING STUDENTS'POTENTIAL Time to bring back UPSR,say education experts and ex-ministers NST /25 P9.7 KUALA LUMPUR:Several educa-tion experts and former educa-tion ministers have called for thereinstatement of the Ujian Pen-capaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR)examination,five years after itsabolition. They argue that it remains es-sential for assessing pupils'aca-demic performance and learningprogress. Former education minister DrMaszlee Malik said the UPSRshould be reintroduced butadapted to incorporate moderntools such as big data,machinelearning and artificial intelli-gence(AI)to evaluate pupils be- yond their academic achieve-ments. "The most important thing is toidentify pupils'potential.Withdata,AIand learning systems,wecan track theirdevelopment frompreschool to Year Six. "After that,they should sit for anational exam,which I believeshould be reinstated—not as thesole assessment,but one thatcomplements data-driven evalu-ations,"he said at the RundinganMeja Bulat Nasional(Rimbun)1.0forum organised by Umno Youthyesterday. The forum was titled“Refor- masi Sistem Pendidikan pada Za- man AI dan Pemerkasaan Insti-tusi Guru”(Reforming the Edu-cation System in the ArtificialIntelligence Era and Empower-ing the Teaching Profession). The UPSR and the Form ThreeAssessment(PT3)were abolishedin 2021 following consultationswith various.stakeholders,afterbeing temporarily suspended in2020 due to the Covid-19 pan-demic. Then senioreducation ministerDatuk Dr Radzi Jidin said the de-cision was meant to strengthenschool-based assessments andthe Pentaksiran KemasukanSekolah Khusus for students ap- plying to fuly residentialschools. Another formereducation min-ister,Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid,also supported the idea of reviv-ing a national-level examination,saying it would help shape stu-dents'overall character andlearning discipline. “School-based assessmentsand co-curricularevaluations areconducted by teachers,but thereshould still be at least one na-tional examination between YearOne and Form Four to assessoverall performance,"he said. Former Education director-general Tan Sri Alimuddin Mohd Dom said examinations re-mained necessary to identify stu-dents'weaknesses and guide tar-geted interventions. “We shouldn’t fear examina-tions,"he said. Academic influencer and for-mer teacher Datuk Mohd SharizalSamsudinechoed the sentiments. "Bring back the UPSR,even if itis under a different name.Par-ents and teachers can no longercope with the current system. “Students entering boardingschools end up struggling be-cause their learning foundationsunder the classroom assessmentsystem are very different.”

FAQs

Why are education experts calling to bring back the UPSR?

They argue it remains essential for assessing pupils’ academic performance and learning progress, including identifying students’ potential.

How should the UPSR be adapted according to speakers?

Former ministers suggest incorporating modern tools like big data, machine learning and AI to evaluate pupils beyond academic achievements and track development from early years through Year Six.

What is the proposed role of a national exam in relation to current assessments?

The national exam should be reinstated as a complement to data-driven evaluations, not as the sole assessment method.

Aug 13, 2026

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