By Nur Dianah Suhaimi

You would think that parents would be happy with last week's news that a Ministry of Education committee has proposed to do away with exams at Primary 1 and Primary 2.

Not a good number of the 120 parents of young children surveyed in a Sunday Times poll.

Fifty-one parents wanted exams to be retained as they are concerned their children will not be able to cope with exams when they reach Primary 3.

And 65 of them felt that having tests throughout the year instead - as is being proposed - will cause more stress for their kids.

While most parents felt that English is an important subject which should be tested, 34 of them wanted their children to be examined in all three core subjects - English, Mathematics and Mother Tongue.

Others felt that children will become too complacent and will not be able to differentiate between small tests and major exams later.

The Primary Education Review and Implementation (Peri) Committee had felt that education at lower primary level should focus on building confidence and developing a love for learning which cannot be achieved with the current emphasis on formal exams.

Instead, it recommends 'bite-sized assessments' such as topical tests to provide parents with feedback on their children's learning.

The recommendation is not finalised. But once the Education Ministry gives the thumbs up, changes will be implemented over 10 years.

One parent, tutor Maslena Mohamad, 34, said without exams, children may become complacent about their studies even when they move on to upper primary later.

'It is good to get them used to exams from the start so that by the time they get to upper primary, they are used to preparing for major exams,' said Madam Maslena, whose son is in Primary 1 this year.

Housewife Angeline Wong, 40, is concerned that after two years of sitting for mini-tests, the children would treat major exams 'just as lightly'.

Mr Tan Sze Tong, 40, a regional director of a telecommunications company, said children may get a 'huge shock' in Primary 3 when they are suddenly faced with major exams.

Last year, Mr Tan wrote to The Straits Times Forum page to complain about how his seven-year-old Primary 1 daughter had to sit for six examinable subjects for her semestral assessment.

He said: 'It is such a drastic change - from too many exams to no exams at all. The ministry should take a more balanced approach and retain exams for core subjects like English, Maths and Mother Tongue.'

Another parent, engineer Michael Goh, 41, said it would be 'cruel' to reserve exams for later.

His son, now 10, used not to have any homework in his first three years in primary school. But now that he is in Primary 4, he is getting 'tons of homework' each day and cannot cope.

'Kids who suddenly have to sit for exams after two years of fun will be faced with the same problem,' he said.

While many applaud the effort the ministry is taking to make learning stress-free and fun for young kids, some felt that the committee should have gone all out in doing so.

Sales manager Rachel Yeo, 37, who has a seven-year-old son, said there is no point in scrapping exams at the lower level if education at the upper primary level still revolves around exams and grades.

Dr Brian Yeo, a consultant psychiatrist at Mount Elizabeth Medical Centre, agrees.

'Parents are not so short-sighted. They know that their kids will still have to sit for the streaming and PSLE at the end of the day. Without exams at Primary 1 and 2, parents won't know how far they have to push their kids and may end up pushing them even more. It is like holding back a volcano,' he said.

Primary school teacher A. Tan, 35, worries that without exams, parents will find other ways to assess their children.

She said: 'I can already foresee them burying their children with past-year exam papers. For the new system to be effective, parents need to change their attitude first.'

This article was first published in The Straits Times on February 01, 2009.