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18 September 2015
Free Malaysia Today
No necessity to re-sit UPSR Chinese language paper
Deputy Education Minister says question paper was set based on existing ministry procedures and pre-tests conducted in schools.
SERDANG: It is unnecessary for pupils to re-sit the allegedly tough Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) Chinese language test paper, said Deputy Education Minister Chong Sin Woon.
This was because the Malaysian Examinations Syndicate explained that the Standard Six pupils had the capability to answer the questions, he added.
Chong had met the syndicate following complaints from parents and teachers that the UPSR Chinese comprehension paper had used excerpts from Chinese classical literature used in the Malaysian secondary school syllabus.
He said syndicate officials had explained to him at a meeting two days ago that the question paper was set based on the existing procedure in the education ministry besides taking into account the pre-test conducted in schools.
“The questions can be answered by our pupils. I wish to reiterate that there is no need for the pupils to re-sit the exam,” he told reporters after launching the “School Interaction System (SIS)” at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Seri Kembangan here today.
Chong, who is also MCA Youth chief, said however that he did not agree with the use of elements of Chinese language which Malaysian pupils were unfamiliar with.
“There is a difference in some elements of Chinese language used in Malaysia, China, Taiwan or Hong Kong. As such, we do not have to adopt the standard used in China but have one suitable for Malaysia,” he said.
He said this was discussed with syndicate officials and that necessary adjustments would be made for future examinations.
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13 September 2015
…
UPSR華文試卷水準高，有陰謀？！
UPSR: high level of Chinese-language papers, a conspiracy?!
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theSundaily
Press Digest: Furore over tough UPSR test paper
Last updated on 13 September 2015 – 05:12pm
PETALING JAYA: Parents have raised a stink over the tough Chinese language paper for this year’s primary school assessment examination or UPSR (Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah).
According to the Chinese press, the multiple-choice questions for the comprehension test are of secondary school standard and even two Ph.D holders in the Chinese language could not come to a consensus on the answers to four of the five questions.
…
MCA vice-president Datuk Hou Kok Chung, a former deputy higher education minister and a former Chinese language lecturer with Universiti Malaya, said setting multiple choice questions for comprehension is basically wrong.
“This is not a question of whether the test questions were tough or not, but that both the method used and the examiner’s mindset are wrong. To me, this is a very serious matter.”
http://www.thesundaily.my/news/1550810
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Several newspapers had reported about UPSR pupils leaving the examination hall almost crying after their Chinese paper.
Star
Sunday September 13, 2015 MYT 7:42:09 AM
Wee: SPM-level text used in UPSR
PETALING JAYA: UPSR examiners have “overestimated” the ability of pupils sitting for the examination by using text meant for SPM takers, said MCA deputy president Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong.
He said that a part of the comprehension test for the UPSR Chinese paper last Wednesday was directly copied from an SPM workbook.
Dr Wee posted four pictures on his Facebook account yesterday, showing the cover of that SPM Chinese workbook, among others.
“This part was also found in a junior high textbook in China.”
“In other words, this is beyond the comprehension level of primary school students,” he said.
Dr Wee, whose son took the UPSR exam this year, said he was unsure the questions were set to “test students” or to “intentionally make answering hard” for them.
“I hope examiners in future can have the right ‘mindset’ in setting questions,” he added.
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UPSR華文試卷水準高，有陰謀？！
http://www.chinapress.com.my/node/654452
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Borneo Post Online
Parents and teachers aghast over UPSR Chinese papers
SIBU: Parents and teachers have voiced their anxiety and disappointment with this year’s Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) Chinese papers, which are said to be of upper secondary school standard.The questions said to be incomprehensible to Primary 6 pupils have gone viral on social media.The Borneo Post examined the second comprehension piece that was raised most by parents and found the multiple choice answers provided for some questions could all be considered correct, making it extremely difficult for a 12-year-old to make the correct choice.“My daughter came back complaining about how hard the (Chinese) paper was,” complained one mother, identified only as Ting.“While they were collecting the exam papers after the test, my daughter told me even the examiner was surprised with the difficulty of the test where even he couldn’t manage to answer a few of the questions.”
The piece also contained terms that are not used by Mandarin speakers locally such as “people’s hospital?and “attending doctor or physician-in-charge?(zhu zhi dai fu), which are commonly used in China.
Meanwhile, a teacher with 18 years’ experience in the subject, said the standard of the comprehension section was actually of secondary school level.
“Pupils would really need to read a lot and I mean a lot to fully understand and comprehend the text,” she said.
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◤頭條新聞◢
連首相署部長拿督魏家祥博士也有微詞了….
http://www.chinapress.com.my/node/654375
#今日中國報
Wee Ka Siong added 4 new photos.
2 hrs ·
刚刚接获友人的通知，原来UPSR华语试卷的理解文（二），并非来自出题者“高水准”的创意大作，而是从SPM华语的模拟试题参考书中原文抄来的。
相关文章也出现在中国的初中课本，换言之，这文章的理解能力肯定不在小学生的程度内。
直接使用相关文章已经存有争议，如今相关文章根本就是用在中学，对我国而言，相关文章更是属于高中的水平，这更是完全不适用于小学生。
出题者是高估了小学生的水平，还是存心刁难，以考倒学生为己任，还是以检测学生是否学有所成，大家可以自行评论。
但愿出题者往后抱有正确的心态，在出题时应该更负责任，真正以核定学生是否学有所成、学以致用为目的，给予学生更多鼓励，而不是一味要学生失利。
THE LEVEL OF DIFFICULTY IS THAT OF SECONDARY SCHOOL.
他揶揄出題者到底是用心良苦，還是存心挖苦，竟然以本身的高思維、高水准、高創意，編寫出遠不在小學生認知程度內的考題… http://bit.ly/1UNrmmB
11 September 2015
光明日報 Guang Ming Daily added 4 new photos.
UPSR華文試卷太難 ● 大人也未必能作答
有老師披露，近60%高思維題目考卷令部份小六考生無法在限定時間內完成作答，哭著出考場… http://bit.ly/1UGusy4
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9 September 2015
FACT OR FICTION?
1 Instructions to be given only in Malay.
2 UPSR candidates in several Chinese national-type schools in Penang were not allowed to give their answers in English and Malay.
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Deputy Education Minister Chong Sin Woon, “The directive is not accurate because the ministry allows bi-lingualism by the examination invigilators for UPSR candidates at SJKCs and National-Type Tamil Schools.”
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Star
Wednesday September 9, 2015 MYT 7:41:18 AM
Probe launched over ‘Bahasa only’ claim
BENTONG: The Malaysian Examination Board has been directed to investigate a claim that UPSR invigilators at several Chinese national-type schools in Penang were not allowed to read the instructions in the examination papers in any other another language except in Bahasa Melayu.
Deputy Education Minister Chong Sin Woon, who issued the directive, said there had been no circular or instruction issued on the matter.
“The instruction from the ministry is the same as in previous years. As of yesterday (Monday), there is no change in the policy of allowing invigilators to read in English or Chinese,” he added.
He said it was common for the head invigilator to read the instructions in both languages.
“If Chinese is included in the instructions, the head invigilator may ask another invigilator who understands the language to read them out to students,” he added.
“We have instructed the Board to investigate the matter because of concerns that this will affect the pupils as they still have many exam papers to sit for,” he told reporters at SJKC Khai Mun here yesterday.
http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Nation/2015/09/09/Probe-launched-over-Bahasa-only-claim/
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astroAWANI
UPSR: Education Ministry investigates claim that use of bilingual not allowed
Bernama | 
September 08, 2015 15:33 MYT
BENTONG: The Malaysian Examination Board (LPM) has been instructed to investigate into a claim that Ujian Penilaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) candidates in several Chinese national-type schools in Penang were not allowed to give their answers in English and Malay.
Second Education Minister Senator Chong Sin Woon said there was no circular or instruction issued by the ministry on the matter.
“The instruction from the ministry is the same as in previous years. As of yesterday, there is no change in the policy saying that we do not allow UPSR candidate to give their answers in bilingual.
“We have instructed LPM to investigate,” he told reporters at SJKC Khai Mun here today.
Chong said he had sought clarification on the claim from a chief invigilator at one of the schools concerned and was told that the instruction was for the UPSR candidate to answer only in Bahasa Malaysia.
“I have also asked the State Education Director to clarify the matter to avoid confusion among the candidates,” he added.
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Malaysian Insider
Education ministry to investigate ban on bilingual instructions in UPSR
Published: 9 September 2015 12:07 AM
Education ministry to investigate ban on bilingual instructions in UPSR http://bit.ly/1hU96eN
Year 6 pupils sit for their UPSR examination. Several Chinese primary schools in Penang were reportedly barred from using other than Bahasa Malaysia when issuing examination instructions. – The Malaysian Insider file pic, September 8, 2015
The Education Ministry will investigate a directive issued to several National-Type Chinese Primary Schools (SJKC) in Penang barring invigilators from using other than Bahasa Malaysia when issuing examination instructions to the Primary School Achievement Test (UPSR) candidates.
Deputy Education Minister Chong Sin Woon said he had just received information on the matter when the UPSR got under way this morning.
“I personally contacted the examination invigilators at the schools concerned and they said they were only allowed to use Bahasa Malaysia to explain the examination procedure.
“The directive is not accurate because the ministry allows bi-lingualism by the examination invigilators for UPSR candidates at SJKCs and National-Type Tamil Schools,” he said.
He said this during a visit in conjunction with the UPSR at SJKC Khai Mun in Bentong, Pahang, today.
Chong said the invigilators could request assistance to explain to the candidates concerning the examination instructions if they could only speak in Bahasa Malaysia.
“The ministry is still in the process of investigating and identifying the affected schools.
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weehingthong 