PMR: WHAT'S THE POINT?

Subject: FW: A Very Wise View from
Datuk Dr Agoes Salim...

The objective of STPM is to pass people?

How do you explain the fact that 87% of the students passed the exams
of the Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia (STPM) recently,
when during your father's time only 10% would have passed?

Are students getting smarter? Or are STPM questions
getting easier?


Let me put things in their proper
perspective.

During your grandfather' s time, they would ask exam questions like:

"In what year did Parameswara founded the kingdom of Melaka?"

The correct answer was "1402", and they found that only 10% of the students managed to answer the question correctly. This didn't go down too well with the authorities, because the objective of the exams was
to pass people. I mean, what's the point of having exams if people fail?

So later, they found another way to ask the same question:

"Parameswara founded the kingdom of Melaka in the year:

(a) 2001

(b) 2004

(c) 1986

(d) 1975

(e) 1402

Tick the correct answer."

The results were better in that 20% of the students passed. But it was still not good enough so the authorities tried a different tactic a few years later.

"Parameswara founded the kingdom of Melaka in the year 1402. True or false?"

Well, half of the students guessed "True" and
the other half guessed "False".

Fully 50% passed.

The results were getting pretty acceptable by now but still not good enough. Most other countries would be satisfied with a 50% passing rate, but not us.

We are a better country, because we are a boleh country. The authorities then cracked their heads and then came out with this one:

Read the following sentence carefully.

"Parameswara, the cousin of Proton-Iswara, founded the kingdom of Melaka in the year 1402.
Underline the name of the person who founded Melaka."

60% underlined "Parameswara", 30% underlined
"Proton-Iswara" and 10% underlined "1402".

Yeah!!!!.... 60% managed to pass! So krever!

But for some reason, the authorities were still not contented. So last year, they came out with this gem:

"One day in the year 1402, Parameswara founded the kingdom of Melaka. Then he went home to have dinner. What did he eat?"

13% (smart students) handed in blank
answers, 57% wrote "Maggi Mee", 10% wrote " Kentucky Fried Chicken" and 20% wrote "Nasi Lemak".

The correct answer was anything concerning "Food" of course!

After the marking was over, it was found that 87% of the students had passed.

87%!!!!! Now that's pretty impressive!

So it's true.

So now the authorities are very happy that the students are indeed getting smarter?

Well done Boleh-land!

Perhaps, this is why we have a host of
students with an impressive string of 'As' who can hardly construct a decent sentence! Neow mind, our super-duper gomen can find a job for us one.

Duh……

See?? THAT is the point. I totally PHAILED PMR BM with cold feet. Yeah, no shit.

Anyhow, I kinda forgot to write my Ringkasan until the last ten minutes and I had on my OMGWTFSHIT expression. Wan Chao, on my right, laughed. I gave him the middle finger in the middle of my furious 80 words-in-8-minutes scrawl which, I don't think, has many points. I think only the last one counts...

Anyways I WAS LIKE DYING IN THERE. It was so cold, I was so sleepy, Malay words make me go to sleep just like how Greek leaves me confuzzled.

But I feel sorry for the teacher grading my paper. He must be cursing me, my writing, my poor control of the language in ten different languages and a few vulgar gestures and going, "OH GOD ALLAH MY EYES BUUUUUUUURRRRNNN." Yes I know. I kinda got the point when my brain fried in the middle of Bahagian C. I heard my nerve cells start a barbecue party without me.

Now, how am I going to take tomorrow's Science?

LOL FAIL.