NO one from the Education Ministry attended a meeting called by the special select committee on education despite an invitation to explain the sudden move to abolish the Form 3 Assessment examination (PT3), chairman Dr Maszlee Malik said.

The committee had hoped to hear from Education Minister Mohd Radzi Jidin on the rationale of its decision to scrap the PT3, as well as the alternatives prepared to replace the exam used to stream students into the arts or sciences in Form 4.

“The committee, through the Dewan Rakyat secretary, had called the education minister or a representative to explain and clarify these issues.

“Disappointingly, the ministry and its minister chose not to attend. This is deeply regretted, as it disregards Parliament,” Maszlee said in a statement today.

The Simpang Renggam MP and former education minister also said it was unprofessional of Radzi or his officers to have been absent.

He said the select committee plans to meet with the Dewan Rakyat speaker as well as Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob over the matter.

On June 2, Radzi announced that the PT3 would be abolished starting this year, and that the ministry would be improving school-based assessments. 

PT3, which began in 2014 to replace the Form 3 Penilaian Menengah Rendah examination, was found to have resulted in different standards among schools, Radzi had said in explaining the ministry’s decision. – June 14, 2022.