Malaysia Not “Running from PISA”, Claims Misleading — Education Expert

KUALA LUMPUR: Claims that Malaysia is “running away” from international assessments such as PISA and lowering its academic standards have been firmly rejected by an education expert, who described such narratives as misleading, sensational, and lacking evidence.

In response to an article published by an online portal alleging “grade inflation” and a decline in education standards, Dr Radin Muhd Imaduddin bin Radin Abdul Halim, a research fellow with Komuniti Pendidik Madani, said the claims were built on misinterpretation of data and taken out of proper context.

“The headline itself is problematic. Phrases like ‘lie exposed’ suggest a major scandal in the national education system, yet the article fails to provide any concrete evidence. It merely strings together isolated figures without context to create a dramatic narrative,” he said.

Dr Radin stressed that Malaysia has consistently participated in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) since 2009, including the latest cycles in 2022 and 2025, dismissing allegations that the country is avoiding global benchmarking.

He also rejected comparisons suggesting that past examination systems were more rigorous, describing such arguments as overly simplistic and unfair.

“The Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) is not a new system. It is rooted in the same framework that has existed for decades. There is no evidence to show that standards have been systematically lowered,” he said.

Instead, he argued that improvements in access and quality of education have enabled more students to succeed. Over the years, Malaysia has expanded preschool enrolment, strengthened teacher training, and introduced targeted interventions to support students.

“As more students achieve excellent results today, it does not indicate falling standards. It reflects a more inclusive and effective education system that allows more students to meet those standards,” he explained.

Addressing claims that hundreds of thousands of students lack basic literacy and numeracy skills (3M), Dr Radin said such figures were often misrepresented.

He pointed out that early screening initiatives in 2024 identified 122,062 Year One pupils needing support, but this demonstrated the system’s ability to detect learning gaps early rather than a failure. Of these, 59.3% were successfully remediated within a short period.

“By Year Two, around 90% of students have mastered basic literacy and numeracy. Quoting large absolute numbers without context is misleading,” he said.

He also clarified that widely cited claims that “42% of Malaysian children cannot read” stem from a misinterpretation of international benchmarks such as SEA-PLM 2019.

“The data refers to students not yet reaching minimum international proficiency levels, not an inability to read. Only about 5% are at very low levels. The rest can read but may not yet demonstrate higher-order comprehension,” he said.

Dr Radin added that such data involved Year Five students, who are still in the process of learning, making the conclusions drawn even more questionable.

He further highlighted that Malaysia was among countries most affected by prolonged school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic, with approximately 174 days of disruption, which contributed to learning losses reflected in assessments like PISA 2022.

However, he emphasised that recovery efforts are ongoing and showing results. In the SEA-PLM 2024 assessment, Malaysia ranked first in the region for writing literacy, with nearly 80% of students achieving medium to high proficiency levels.

“It is contradictory to claim students cannot read, yet acknowledge their strong writing performance. Writing requires comprehension—without reading, quality writing is not possible,” he said.

On allegations of grade inflation, Dr Radin noted that the number of top-performing SPM candidates in 2025 actually declined slightly to 13,779, with no abnormal surge.

While the national average grade improved marginally and the pass rate rose to 94.29%, he said this reflects broader access to education rather than lowered standards.

“If increasing the number of students who pass is seen as lowering standards, then we are effectively penalising progress in educational access,” he added.

Dr Radin concluded that the article in question was not a rigorous analysis but a selective narrative that risks distorting public understanding.

“Malaysia’s education system is not perfect, but it is not collapsing as portrayed. Sensational claims without context only create unnecessary panic and distract from real efforts to strengthen literacy and learning outcomes,” he said.