26,000 Year 6 pupils to sit for Sarawak's first UP-DLP test this October
SIBU (Aug 11): The inaugural Dual Language Programme Sarawak Assessment Test (UP-DLP) for Year 6 pupils, scheduled for Oct 15 and 16, will be carried out professionally to ensure integrity, transparency, and strengthen parents' confidence in the system, said Deputy Minister of Education, Innovation and Talent Development Datuk Dr Annuar Rapaee.
According to him, about 26,000 pupils from 1,050 schools statewide, excluding Chinese primary schools (SJKC), will sit for the test, which covers three core subjects: Mathematics, Science, and English.
Dr Annuar said the test papers are developed locally and vetted by Cambridge University Press and Assessment (CUPA) to ensure quality and credibility.
'We want to safeguard the integrity of the examination, and therefore the papers will be treated as highly confidential,' he said.
Dr Annuar, also the Nangka assemblyman, told this to reporters after presenting the Minor Rural Project (MRP) grants to 12 schools under the constituency, in a ceremony held at SMK Agama Sibu yesterday.
He further highlighted that the examination papers will be printed outside Sarawak – with three sets prepared – one kept as standby.
'Marking will be carried out by assessors from Swinburne University, University of Technology Sarawak, and Curtin University, covering the southern, central, and northern region respectively.'
'Markers will not be allowed to bring the examination papers out of the examination room.
'Papers will be tagged for each school, stored in a secure school safe, and delivered under police escort to prevent leaks,' he said.
The grading system will not follow the Cambridge International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) model, he added.
'Pupils will not be graded by the number of A, B, or C results achieved. In other words, we only want to know the overall performance of pupils and schools,' he explained.
'We will not announce the top-performing schools, but we will inform schools of how many pupils scored excellent results and how many performed below average.
This, he noted, is to allow the ministry to identify and assist schools that need support.
Outstanding pupils may be offered places at the Yayasan Sarawak International Secondary School (YSISS) based on their UP-DLP performance.
Dr Annuar acknowledged there may be challenges during the first implementation, especially in rural areas.
'Examinations start at 9am, so teachers in the interior may need to spend the night at schools to ensure they can start on time.'
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