Published on: Friday, November 20, 2009 |
Kota Kinabalu: UPSR results show a 0.4 per cent decline in the passing rate of pupils in the State, the Education Department's Examination and Assessment Sector Chief, Mohd Nor Mohd Sharif, said Thursday.
"Of the 45,424 pupils who took the exam, 19,422 achieved a passing grade, whereas the rest failed to achieve the basic rudimentary skills required," he said.
Last year, he said, the percentage of pupils achieving this passing rate stood at 43.16 per cent whereas this year the percentage declined to 42.76 per cent.
For national type schools, St Francis Convent came out tops with a total of 41 pupils achieving 5As, followed by St Agnes and St Monica with a total of 30 and 27 pupils getting 5As.
On the other hand, for Chinese Schools, SJK(C) Yuk Chin Tawau had 29 pupils who obtained 7As, SJK Chung Hwa Kg Air with 22, followed by SJK(C) St. James Kota Kinabalu with 18 achieving 7As.
Two pupils of SJK(C) Chung Hwa Kg Air credited self-motivation and self discipline for their success in the examination. Yong Yung Chien and Ira Adilah, who were among the 22 straight A pupils of the school, said they did not need extra tuition classes.
"I did not have tuition and I made it a point to study two hours a day," said Yong. He said he would pay full attention in class when his teachers are teaching, and never failed to ask when there were things he did not understand.
"I only played games and watched television when I finished revising," he added.
Yong's mother, Kiew Hung Tung, who also happens to be a teacher in the school, said it was case of Yong motivating himself more than others urging him to study.
"I am proud to say he is easy to care for and educate and he doesn't give me much trouble at home," she said, adding, "for his good achievement, his aunt will be bringing him to Korea for holiday."
Ira Adilah, assistant monitor of her class, proved that being a Bumiputera is no hurdle to succeeding in a Chinese school.
"As both my parents don't know how to speak Chinese, I found other ways to ask about my studies when I had problems. I sometimes asked my 14-year-old sister and if she also didn't know, I went to my neighbour's and asked them to teach me," she stated.
Ira likes to write scripts for the school play and she is also active in sports, especially in athletics.
SJK (C) Chung Hwa Kg Air saw a total of 106 pupils achieving 5 to 7As in the examination.
