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** For foreigners who are not familiar with the country, education and tuition culture in Malaysia, you might find the following guide useful - Malaysia, Education & Tuition: A Background Guide. 
Exams, urgh!!!  As
any schooling youngsters in Malaysia are well aware of, there are
a number of major examinations in their school lives. For the primary
school level, there is the UPSR (Ujian Penilaian Sekolah Rendah, or
Primary School Assessment Examination), taken by Standard 6 students.
This examination purports to identify a pupil's weaknesses and strengths
in preparation for his or her entry into secondary school the following
year. The next public examination is faced at the end of Form 3. Known
as the PMR (Penilaian Menengah Rendah, or Lower Secondary Assessment),
it is the results of this examination that decide which streams (Arts,
Science etc.) that the students go to in their upper secondary years.
Pupils who score high marks are usually channeled to the Science stream.
At the end of the two year upper secondary course (in Form 5), pupils
sit for the SPM (Sijil Pendidikan Malaysia, or Malaysian Certificate
of Education), which signals the end of public schooling. To enter
the universities in Malaysia, pupils have to undergo pre-university
studies such as the government regulated Form 6. Two years in Form
6 lead to the STPM (Sijil Tinggi Pelajaran Malaysia, or Higher School
Certificate of Education) upon the results of which determines acceptance
into the local tertiary educational institutions. The number of vacancies
in these public universities are limited, thus exacerbating the stress
faced by the examination candidates.What's your score?  All
these national examinations are conducted nationwide and are highly
regarded by the Malaysian public. Whenever the results of these examinations
are released, they receive much coverage in the national newspapers
and television. There are the customary performance statistics, national
top scorer, the best performing schools etc. Naturally, there are
enormous pressures on the students to perform well in these examinations.
Some students have been known to commit suicide due to examination
related anxieties in the past. And these anxieties are shared by the
parents as well. Apart from these national examinations, there are
the usual term examinations conducted at the school level. Though
not as important, they are still, nevertheless, receiving much emphasis
by our increasingly examination oriented society.Love it or hate it. It's here to stay. There are various views held among pupils concerning examinations. Some pupils favour examination as an incentive to study. Below are some excerpts taken from a related article in New Straits Times (August 1986):
On the contrary, some students express disfavour towards it:
Through these expressed views, one can see that even those students who have made a positive comment regarding examination, in actual fact tolerated it as a necessary evil. Given the tremendous impact it has on a student's future, it is no wonder that examination is regarded as the most important event in a student's school life. However, one cannot avoid pondering whether examination is really that essential to learning. Is there a better stress-free alternative? List of Articles - Tuition Plaza Home Tuisyen - Malaysia
Tuition Guide |
"Examination
can be defined as the only link between us and textbooks.
If it were not for examinations who would want to attend tuition
classes, slog over homework or memorize weird formulas? Examination,
undoubtedly, serves a good purpose as they discipline our
minds and test our mental ability and understanding. It also
builds character and trains us to accept challenges, success
and failure. Nevertheless, I still wish there were no examinations"
"Examinations
encourage an unhealthy spirit of competition among pupils
and compel them to cram facts rather than understand them.
To avoid failure, candidates resort to copying. The worst
fault of examinations is their lack of reliability. A good
student may be sick or mentally upset ..... while a dull student
may do well by correctly 'spotting' a question ....."
"I
hate examinations. At examination time, I am forced to study
for hours and hours, going over and over every subject. I
am expected to be near perfect in these subjects. I am smart
and usually come out top. And if I don't come out top sometimes
I get a lot of scolding and nagging. So it is the forcing
that makes me hate examinations so much. "
| Glossary
of Terms : (1) Tuition - Tutelage, the act of tutoring or teaching a student (pupil); Fees paid for instruction (especially for higher education). In Malaysia, tuition is more popularly used to denote tutoring rather than fee. Common Malaysian misspellings: Tiution, Tution. *(BM): Tuisyen, Tiusyen, Tusyen, Tuisen, Tiusen, Tuisyan, Tiusyan, Tusyan. | (2) Home Tuition - Tutoring that takes place at students' or tutors' home as opposed to at tuition centers; Also: Home Tutoring, Private Tuition, Private Tutoring. *(BM): Tuisyen Di Rumah, Tuisyen Swasta. | (3) Personal Tuition - Tutoring on the basis of one tutor catering to one student. Also: Personal Tutoring, Individual Tuition, Individual Tutoring, One-to-one Tuition, 1-to-1 Tutoring, One-to-one Tutoring, 1-to-1 Tuition. *(BM): Tuisyen Peribadi, Tuisyen Persendirian, Tuisyen Perseorangan, Tuisyen Individu. | (4) Group Tuition - Tutoring on the basis of one tutor catering to several (small number, but more than one) students. Also: Small Group Tuition, Small Class Tuition, Group Tutoring, Small Group Tutoring, Small Class Tutoring. *(BM): Tuisyen Berkumpulan, Tuisyen Kumpulan Kecil, Tuisyen Kelas Kecil. | (5) Tutors - Tuition Teachers, persons who conduct tuition. In Malaysia, teacher is more popularly used to denote a school teacher whereas tutor usually means a non-school teacher. Also: Tiutors, Tuitors. *(BM): Guru Sekolah, Cikgu Sekolah, Pengajar Tuisyen, Guru Tuisyen, Cikgu Tuisyen. | (6) Home Tutors - Tutors who provide home tuition as opposed to those who teach at tuition centres. Also: Private Tutors, Personal Tutors, Individual Tutors, One-to-one Tutors, 1-to-1 Tutors, Group Tutors, Small Group Tutors, Private Teachers, Personal Teachers, Individual Teachers, One-to-one Teachers, 1-to-1 Teachers, Group Teachers, Small Group Teachers, Private Tuition Teachers, Personal Tuition Teachers, Individual Tuition Teachers, One-to-one Tuition Teachers, 1-to-1 Tuition Teachers, Group Tuition Teachers, Small Group Tuition Teachers. *(BM): Pengajar Di Rumah, Pengajar Swasta, Pengajar Peribadi, Pengajar Persendirian, Pengajar Perseorangan, Guru Di Rumah, Guru Swasta, Guru Peribadi, Guru Persendirian, Guru Perseorangan, Cikgu Di Rumah, Cikgu Swasta, Cikgu Peribadi, Cikgu Persendirian, Cikgu Perseorangan. | (7) Tuition Centers - Private institutions that conduct tuition on classroom-like settings. Also: Tuition Centres, Tutorial Centers, Tutorial Centres, Tuition Classes, Tutorial Classes, Tutoring Classes. *(BM): Pusat Tuisyen, Pusat Bimbingan, Pusat Tutorial, Kelas Tuisyen. | (8) Home Tuition Jobs - Home tuition vacancies; Posts to be filled by home tutors. Also: Private Tuition Jobs, Home Tutoring Jobs, Private Tutoring Jobs, Home Tuition Assignments, Private Tuition Assignments, Home Tutoring Assignments, Private Tutoring Assignments, Private Tuition Vacancies, Home Tutoring Vacancies, Private Tutoring Vacancies. *(BM): Jawatan Kosong Tuisyen, Pekerjaan Tuisyen, Kerja Tuisyen, Tugasan Tuisyen. | (9) Home Tutees - Home tuition students; Pupils receiving home tuition from home tutors. *(BM): Pelajar Tuisyen, Murid Tuisyen, Penuntut Tuisyen. | TUITION • TUTORING • TUISYEN |