03/11/2025

MONDAY | NOV 3, 2025

11

No exams: Bold leap or risky gamble? I N the revered halls of Malaysian schools, the echo of exam bells has fallen silent. Since the abolition of the Ujian like critical thinking and collaboration. The goal? To reduce mental health pressures, a nod to the kiasu culture that has left too many children anxious and exhausted.

MARYAM used the weekend sales at Mid Valley like it was an Olympic sport. Her condo in Bangsar looked like a showroom: three blenders (one for smoothies, one for soups and one “just in case”), a wardrobe that needed its own postcode and a storeroom so full she paid RM250 a month to keep the door closed. “I thought more stuff meant more success,” she says, laughing over teh tarik at her neighbourhood mamak . “Turns out, it just meant more stress.” Then came the “great downshift”. One rainy Tuesday, Maryam opened her banking app and stared at the numbers. Rent, car loan, Grab rides and bubble tea runs – everything felt like a leak in a sampan . to chase Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) in 2021 and the Pentaksiran Tingkatan Tiga (PT3) in 2022, our children from Standard One to Form Five have experienced schooling devoid of high-stakes public examinations. It is a seismic shift, championed by former Education Minister Datuk Dr Radzi Jidin and staunchly defended by his successor, Fadhlina Sidek. But as parents fret over flagging motivation and teachers grapple with the paperwork of school-based assessments (SBA), one question looms large: Has this experiment truly elevated our education system or are we flying blind? Fadhlina recently assured Parliament that the lack of these exams “is not affecting students”, citing a completed impact study from late 2024 that found no significant dip in overall education quality. She pointed to steady SPM performance as evidence, with no widespread decline in Form Five results post-abolition. Yet, critics, including academics and parents’ groups, cry foul. Where are the granular statistics? Dropout rates? Foundational literacy gaps? The minister’s basis feels more like a shield than a sword, especially when one academic bluntly asked in November 2024: “Where is the study on the impact?” It has been barely four years, is this the moment to declare victory? The debate rages on, pitting visions of holistic, stress-free learning against the cold reality of accountability. Let us break it down – the pros of ditching the exams versus the cons that keep parents up at night. Proponents, including the ministry, argue that scrapping UPSR and PT3 liberates students from a toxic cycle of rote memorisation and burnout. “These exams were no longer relevant,” Fadhlina declared in November 2024, emphasising a pivot to SBA that assesses real-world skills

She sold the extra blenders on Carousel, donated half her heels and kept only the clothes that made her feel like her. The condo started to breath. The store room? Empty. The RM250 storage fee? Gone. “Suddenly I had space in my house and my head,” she says. That is minimalism, Malaysian style, not about becoming a monk in a cave but about choosing what sparks joy and ditching the rest. Maryam didn’t downgrade; she upgraded. She swapped fast fashion tees for two linen shirts from a local tailor that cost more but last forever – quality over quantity. One good kettle instead of three cheap ones that die after six months. “My kettle now has a five-year Early signs are promising. The Education (Amendment) Bill 2025 extends compulsory schooling to Form Five, aiming to curb dropouts by making education more engaging, not punitive. Look abroad for inspiration. Finland, the Nordic favourite of global education, thrives with minimal standardised testing until upper secondary school. No nationwide exams for young children means teachers focus on play-based learning and individualised support, yielding top Pisa (Programme for International Student Assessment) scores in reading and equity. Singapore, our Asean neighbour and Pisa powerhouse, has dialled back exam rankings since 2019, shifting to “full subject-based banding” that groups students by strength rather than scores, and their results? Still stellar, with mean Pisa scores of 1,655 across core subjects in 2016, proving high performance doesn’t require early “pressure cookers”. In Malaysia, some teachers echo this. One Reddit thread from educators hailed the change for giving “more freedom to set assessments tailored to our schools”, fostering creativity over conformity. At its core, this reform aligns with a broader truth: School is not just about books and tests; it is about building resilient, curious minds. SBA, when done right, can capture a student’s grit and ingenuity far better than a multiple-choice examination. Without the pressure of national exams, teachers admit their jobs are less stressful because they no longer have to mark thousands of papers overnight. But here’s the rub, noble intentions don’t grade papers. Detractors, from parents’ forums to frontline teachers, warn that without UPSR and PT3, the system lacks vital checkpoints.

A study found that Malaysian educators favour traditional tests for their objectivity, viewing peer or self-assessments as unreliable for low-mastery classes. – AMIRUL SYAFIQ/THESUN

inertia rather than bold foresight. Yes, schools serve parallel goals – socialisation, ethics and life skills – but its primary purpose of equipping children for a competitive world demands evidence-based tweaks, not leaps of faith. Before we pat ourselves on the back, let us demand that impact study in full, benchmark SBA against global peers and pilot hybrid models. Our children are not lab rats for half-baked experiments. What say you, readers? Exam warriors or assessment adventurers? Let’s speak up and be heard. DrBhavani Krishna Iyer holds a doctorate in English literature. Her professional background encompasses teaching, journalism and public relations. She is currently pursuing a second master’s degree in counselling. Comments: letters@thesundaily.com customers ask for repairs, not replacements. Sustainability becomes profit. Bank Negara’s quiet data backs it: household savings rate hit a five-year high in 2025. Pawn shops report fewer luxury handbags and more people redeeming old gold for emergencies. The downshift is real. “I still shop,” she says, “but now I shop like a boss. My own boss.” Her condo is half empty, her wallet half full and her weekends? Full of sea breeze in Port Dickson. The great downshift is not a fad; it’s a correction. Less clutter, more cash. Less waste, more wonder. And for the economy? A chance to grow up, not just grow out. DrDiana Abdul Wahab is a senior lecturer at the Department of Decision Science, Faculty of Business and Economics, Universiti Malaya. Comments: letters@thesundaily.com

teachers with paperwork, not insight. One study found that Malaysian educators favour traditional tests for their objectivity, viewing peer or self-assessments as unreliable for low-mastery classes. Internationally, Finland’s model works because of tiny classes of under 20 and highly trained staff, luxuries Malaysia can’t yet afford. Singapore, for all its reforms, still clings to rigorous national exams, which they have tweaked over the years but the rigid system remains. Educationist Prof Dr Ramlee Mustapha nailed it in September 2024 when he said we need balance, not extremes. Abolishing exams without robust SBA infrastructure risks turning schools into echo chambers of unverified progress. So, where does that leave us? The minister’s defensiveness insisting the decision wasn’t hers and brushing off reversal calls smacks of political Families swap giant televisions for board games and home-cooked nasi lemak nights, experiences over objects and services over goods. A RM200 pottery class beats another RM200 plastic toy that breaks before Raya . Now, zoom out. The old economic playbook ran on planned obsolescence – build it cheap, make it break and sell a new one. Endless consumption kept the GDP humming but the planet? Coughing. The “great downshift” is poking holes in that script. When millions of Maryams stop buying junk, factories slow, malls echo and advertisers panic. Yet, the economy doesn’t have to shrink; it shifts. Money flows from disposable goods to durable ones, from plastic toys to tuition fees and from fast fashion to ethical local brands. A tailor in Kota Bharu gets steady orders; a hiking guide in Sabah says his weekends are booked out; and a bike mechanic in Ipoh smiles when

“No benchmark without them,” lamented an academic in a scathing October 2025 news, arguing that SBA is “prone to bias and teacher subjectivity” without proper training or resources. A shared teacher post in August 2025 called the abolition “a huge mistake”, claiming children are coasting without the purpose exams provide, that annual rite that turns sleepy mornings into focused study sessions. Parents nod vigorously. Forums buzz with fears of unmotivated teenagers, ill-prepared for SPM’s rude awakening. The stats, sparse as they are, have fuelled the fire. A June 2025 IIUM (International Islamic University Malaysia) analysis linked the shift to “diminished quality”, with students advancing sans mastered basics, exacerbating urban-rural divides. And SBA? It’s an “eyewash”, say sceptics. Subjective grading floods warranty,” she grins. The money story flipped, too. Where once her salary vanished on passive spending scroll, tap and regret, Maryam now plays active defence. Every ringgit is questioned: Do I need this or do I just want the dopamine hit? The surplus goes into her Tabung Haji and a little ASB fund. “I’m not rich,” she says, “but I’m free.” And freedom has a price tag most Malaysians can relate to: no more maintenance headaches, no more servicing three air purifiers and no more hunting for space to park the extra motorcycle that “may be useful one day.” Maryam’s monthly “stuff tax” dropped from RM600 to RM80. That’s a flight to Bali or three months of groceries. But Maryam is not alone. From Penang to Johor, WhatsApp groups buzz with “ KonMari-lah my wallet” memes. Young professionals trade Shopee hauls for hiking trips in FRIM.

The great downshift: Minimalism is reshaping our lives

COMMENT by Dr Diana Abdul Wahab