2020 UPSR, PT3 Cancelled

PUTRAJAYA: No Ujian Penilaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR), Pentaksiran Tingkatan Tiga (PT3), Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) and Sijil Vokasional Malaysia (SVM) examinations will be held this year.

Education Minister Dr Mohd Radzi Md Jidin said today this year’s UPSR and PT3 examinations slated for September and early October have been cancelled, while SPM and SVM examinations slated for October and early November have been postponed to the first quarter of 2021.

He said the cancellation of the UPSR will not affect the assessment of students after attending primary education as the assessment could be done through various means.

“As the UPSR results are among the criteria for admission to full boarding schools (SBP), Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Agama (SMKA), Mara Junior Science College (MRSM) and Royal Military College (RMC), the ministry will introduce a new process for this purpose, which is not solely focused on academic performance.

“The cancellation of the PT3 examination will also not affect the assessment of the performance of students in the lower secondary level. A new assessment method will be introduced. Its results will be used as one of the criteria for admission to specific schools such as full-boarding or technical schools,” he added.

Nevertheless, the minister stressed that, in any case, the students’ access to teaching and learning will remain a priority.

The decision on when to reopen schools will only be made when the situation is truly back to normal, said Mohd Radzi.

He said the ministry understood that parents were concerned that they would not be able to make appropriate arrangements if a sudden announcement was made on the reopening of schools.

“Parents need not worry. The ministry will continue to engage with the Ministry of Health to fix an appropriate date for the reopening of schools.

“The Ministry of Education will make the announcement about the reopening at least two weeks in advance,” he said.

Mohd Radzi said that when schools reopen, all aspects concerning safety, cleanliness and the prevention of Covid-19 transmissions, including the practice of social distancing, will be prioritised.

“Apart from that, the Education Ministry has held in-depth discussions with the Health Ministry and the National Security Council on the reopening of schools,” he said.

The Education Ministry, he said, had also prepared post-Movement Control Order (MCO) guidelines on the management of schools which must be referred to by school authorities and parents to ensure the smooth running of schools, and that teaching and learning are undertaken in a safe environment.

The minister said the issue concerning schools involved almost all segments of society, and in this connection, the Education Ministry had undertaken several discussions through various channels to get the viewpoints of parents, teachers and others.

“In general, the feedback from these sessions clearly indicated that the safety and health of students must be prioritised,” he said. – April 15, 2020, Bernama

Standard Chartered Larang Staff Guna Zoom & Google Hangouts

Standard Chartered Plc melarang pekerja menggunakan aplikasi Zoom dan Google Hangouts untuk mesyuarat dalam talian dan perjumpaan digital semasa wabak virus korona Coona-19. Standard Chartered menjadi bank global pertama yang melarang penggunaan kedua-dua aplikasi ini untuk bekerja.

Memo dalaman dihantar oleh Ketua Eksekutif Standard Chartered Bill Winters kepada pekerja minggu lalu dengan alasan ada masalah keselamatan atau keselamatan siber, seperti yang dilaporkan oleh Reuters pada hari Rabu (15/4/2020).


Menurut para pakar, tidak ada aplikasi pertemuan dalam talian yang menawarkan tahap enkripsi sebaik Webex Cisco System Inc., Microsoft Corp Team atau Blue Jeans Network Inc.

Standard Chartered mengikuti langkah SpaceX yang melarang penggunaan aplikasi Zoom di tempat kerja kerana lubang keselamatan yang dapat dimanfaatkan oleh penggodam jahat untuk mengambil alih atau menyusup rapat.

Taiwan dan Jerman juga melarang pegawai kerajaan menggunakan aplikasi Zoom. FBI telah memberi amaran kepada penduduk mengenai bahaya penggunaan Zoom dua minggu yang lalu.

Dalam penyiasatan The Citizen Lab, aplikasi Zoom tidak menggunakan ciri enkripsi end-to-end standard untuk menjamin perkhidmatannya. Mereka juga mengesyorkan penggunaan perkhidmatan ini untuk perbualan dan pertemuan biasa.

Tetapi untuk pertemuan rahsia atau perjumpaan dalam talian yang dijalankan oleh pemerintah tidak digalakkan. Walaupun menggunakan aplikasi Zoom untuk aktiviti ini disebut bukan tindakan yang bijak.

Stay off Zoom and Google Hangouts, Standard Chartered chief tells staff

Standard Chartered Plc is the first major global bank to tell employees not to use Zoom Video Communications Inc during the coronavirus pandemic due to cybersecurity concerns, according to a memo seen by Reuters.

The message, sent by chief executive officer Bill Winters to managers last week, also warned against using Alphabet Inc’s Google Hangouts platform for virtual gatherings.

Neither service offers the level of encryption of conversations that rivals like Cisco System Inc’s Webex, Microsoft Corp’s Teams or Blue Jeans Network Inc do, industry experts said.

A Standard Chartered spokeswoman declined to comment on a Reuters query on the memo. She said cybersecurity remains a top priority and that staff can use several authorised tools for audio and video conferencing.

The London-based bank is the latest entity to distance itself from Zoom after interlopers exposed security flaws by bursting into strangers’ video chats in the nude, inserting lewd images into presentations, or hurling racial slurs at participants.

These “Zoombombing” incidents have rattled all kinds of users, as hoards of business people, students, families and friends flocked to the service to stay connected while isolating during the pandemic. Zoom in March had about 200 million people using its system every day, up from 10 million at the end of last year.

Banks have particular worries about cybersecurity because of regulations that can penalise them for exposing customer information, even if inadvertently.

Standard Chartered staff are mostly using Blue Jeans, said two employees who were not authorised to speak on the matter.

The bank joins others ranging from Elon Musk’s SpaceX to New York City’s public school system and governments in Taiwan and Germany in placing restrictions on Zoom.

In a statement, Zoom said many global customers including financial firms, telecommunications companies, universities, and government agencies had performed “exhaustive security reviews” of its technology and chosen it as a service.

Founded and headed by former Cisco manager Eric Yuan, Zoom last week tapped former Facebook Inc security chief Alex Stamos as an adviser on safety and privacy concerns to quell the global backlash against its perceived flaws.

Tricky choice

Choosing a communications provider is tricky for banks, which have to balance security concerns, data-access needs and the preferences of clients and employees, who may wander off to another service outside official channels if rules are too stringent.

Industry workers described a mixed experience with video chats in the age of the coronavirus.

Two JPMorgan Chase & Co employees said they regularly hold meetings on Zoom. It is one of a few videoconferencing tools the bank allows, including Blue Jeans.

Some Goldman Sachs Group Inc employees have been holding virtual “pub outings” on Zoom, where they connect after work with a cocktail or beer in hand to chat, a source said. The bank’s chief technology officer told staff in an April 3 video that they could use Zoom and Blue Jeans.

Morgan Stanley employees are also allowed to use Zoom, among other options, a source there said. Barclays Plc only uses Zoom if a client requests it, according to a source. People at Wells Fargo & Co and Citigroup Inc said Zoom is not a familiar option at their banks, which rely on other services.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, a self-regulatory group for US brokers, is also still using Zoom after security experts worked through some issues with the company, Thomas Gira, who heads market regulation, said in an interview. – April 15, 2020, Reuters

Sumber: Focus Malaysia