Form 6 to be Phased Out?大学先修班将被淘汰？

Form 6 is one of the toughest phases in student’s life. Traditionally, the Form 6 examination will determine student’s entry into the Institute of Higher Learning. Many students find it difficult to deal with Form 6.

During the 60s, when it was my time, we have to take a common examination and only the qualified students are allowed to take Form 6. Hence, there are many first grader during my time who failed to make it into Lower 6 and for a lot of students, it often marks the end of their dream of entering universities. As the result, some went to teachers college, others went into private institution and many just dropped out after their Form 5.

In those days, you have to take General Paper (GP) and a lot of science students hated this paper, especially the essay writing per se. Often good science students may fail the paper. The general paper gave no avenue for memorizing or route learning and it was a test of creative thinking and general knowledge. Students who don’t read besides their textbook have difficulty in answering the GP.

With liberalization of education and the advancement in education facilities, a lot of students opt for pre-university and for bumiputras and very small number of non-bumiputra, matriculation classes.

One should not compare the students who go through matriculation and the 2-year system of Form 6. In the matriculation system, students are evaluated every semester rather than a one-off examination at the end of 2 years as in Form 6.

I can appreciate the difference between semester examination and the one off examination at the end of 2 years studies. That examination, to a certain extend, will determine your future since the acceptance into Institution of Higher Learning and the course you prefer will be determined by your result.

In short, it’s a challenging 2-year course. Doing away with the STPM so that all will be pre-university or matriculation would only serve to aggravate the falling education standard.

Maybe in addition to the final examination, the semester assessment should be taken into consideration. This will relieve tension and stress. It would also be a better platform to evaluate student’s performance. There should be greater emphasis on the quality of education to meet market demands rather than mass production of graduates.

The government should reduce intake of students for courses that are popular among students but its market demand is dropping. We are still sadly lacking in graduates in pure sciences and pure arts.

Today, in the market, we see mass production of graduates from the field of business studies, IT, lawyers and mass communication. There is a need to curb mass production of graduates in these fields.

Government and education sector should pay more attention to the connection between popular courses and the market demand. Otherwise this mismatch will get worse. Students should be exposed to career counseling so that they have more options to choose from.

It is hoped that in the future, there will be a better balance between the courses offered and market demands.

大学先修班可谓是求学生涯中最艰难的阶段之一。根据传统，大学先修班考试，即大马高等教育文凭，将决定学生能否踏入国内高等教育学府的门槛，也让绝多数的中六考生苦不堪言。

在60年代的求学时期，我们必须先通过一项考试，以获选进入先修班。当时有很多人被拒于先修班门外，而进入大学的梦想就此破灭。过后，有些人进入师范学院或到私立学院深造，有更多人中五毕业后就停学了。当时，普通试卷（General Paper）是先修班的必考科，让很多理科生很懊恼，尤其是写作部分，常有优秀的理科生在这项科目不及格。因为普通科试卷有别于其他科目，其内容包罗万象不能死背，主要是测验考生的创意思维及普通常识。如果学生没有阅读课本以外的书籍，一般上都无法作答。

随着教育自由化，教育设施不断获得改善，很多学生都选择就读大学先修班。土著学生及少数的非土著生则选择大学预科班。

其实，人们不应该把大学预科班及为期两年的大学先修班相提并论。前者每学期会进行评估考试，后者则完成两年课程后才进行总考。 我可以了解学期考考试及课程总考试的分别。考试，对学生未来的前途很重要，因为成绩将决定考生能否被大学录取，就读他们属意的科系。

简言之，大学先修班是充满挑战的两年制课程。取消大马高等教育文凭考试，而把大学先修班及预科班统一化的做法，只会将加剧教育水平滑落的问题。 或许，除了期末考试，当局也应该考虑学期评估试，因为定时评估有助纾解总考带来的紧张和压力，也不失为评估学生表现的好方式。与其大量“生产”毕业生，政府更应关注教育的品质，以使我国的教育水平能迎合市场需求和竞争。

此外，政府也应该减少那些广受学生欢迎但却失去市场需求价值课系的学额。我觉得可惜的是，我国迄今仍严重缺乏纯理和纯文科毕业生。

今天，市场上有太多商学系、资讯工艺系、法律系及大众传播系的毕业生。我想，政府有必要停止再大量栽培这些科系的毕业生。

相反的，政府及教育领域要更关注热门科系与市场需求的联系，否则，错误迎合市场的现象或恶化。学生也应该接受更多职业辅导，以增进他们对各职业的认知，而让自己有更多的科系选择。

希望在未来，教育机构提供的科系选择与市场需求能取得平衡。