KBSR which is known as Integrated Primary School Curriculum was first introduced

in 1983, and subsequently reviewed in 2003. KBSR is the first large scale curriculum
innovation that affected the whole education system mainly on three components
which are the communication, self development, man and his environment. It
comprises basically the four language skills of listening, speaking, reading and
writing as well as the language contents focusing more on oral and written. The
integration of KBSR includes basic skills and additional skills, content which
comprises the knowledge and practice, co-curriculum that determines academic
performance and curriculum that determines leadership and skills' performance,
language that comprises writing, listening, speaking, reading, grammar and
vocabulary which I mentioned earlier. Meanwhile, KSSR which is known as Primary
School Standard Curriculum is a standardized English Language Curriculum for
primary schools which is introduced by Ministry of Education Malaysia. KSSR is
newly implemented in stages or phase by phase starting in year 2011. This
curriculum emphasizes on students' holistic development which means all rounded
including spiritual, emotional, physical and intellectual. it is also introduced to make
the education less examination oriented. KSSR covers six key areas which are the
communication, spiritual attitude and values, humanitarianism, literacy in science
and technology, physical aesthetic development and personal development adding
to other skills such as grooming of creativity and innovation, entrepreneurship and
integration of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to produce holistic
individuals. KSSR emphasizes on the development of basic language skills so that
students have a strong foundation to build their proficiency in the language such as
listening, speaking, reading, writing and language arts. It focus more on basic
literacy with an emphases on phonics. Example of language arts are exploring
songs, stories, chants, games and plays to serve a fun learning environment.
Grammar is still going to be taught in context however the content may vary in both
KSSR and KBSR.
What is KBSR and KSSR all about? What are the characteristics? What are
the similarities and differences between KBSR and KSSR? What are the new changes
made from KBSR to KSSR? In both KBSR and KSSR, the purpose is communication
although the level of communication differs. In KBSR, simple communication is
focused and it is within the classroom, however, in KSSR the level of communication
is advanced and higher which is recommended and applicable outside of the
classroom as well in our daily life. KBSR includes the mastery of basic skills (3R)
which are the reading comprising comprehension and pronunciation, writing
comprised of vocabulary, grammar and spelling and lastly arithmetic comprised of
subtraction, addition, multiplication and division. Malay language will be the
medium of instruction. KBSR is simple and selective such as the master of language
include pronunciation, grammar and sentence structure which is more oral and
literal whereas in KSSR it is all rounded elements which is mainly to reach the
objective to produce holistic individuals. Although KSSR emphasizes on basic
language too, however, it also focus on the ICT literacy, critical and creative

thinking, reasoning skills and language arts which make KSSR different from KBSR.
In KSSR, learning is fun, meaningful and purposeful whereas KBSR has more
traditional way of learning. The assessment in KBSR is based on formative
evaluation. Teachers identify students' strengths, weaknesses and progress through
quizzes and assignments. In KSSR, the assessment is based on both formative and
summative evaluation which is done at the end of particular lesson, unit or term by
assessing them individually.This will enable the teachers to identify the students'
ability and performances in studies. KSSR and KBSR also emphasize on
development of values. Moral values and attitudes are incorporated in all the
subjects. Teacher will be the role model where students will foster positive and
respectful behaviour by imitating their teachers. Students feel encouraged and
motivated all the time. In addition, KBSR and KSSR have flexible methodology,
pedagogy, activities and classroom organizations where teachers can adjust their
teaching and learning methods according to the students' developmental
aspects.The learning and teaching in both KBSR and KSSR is student-centered.
Students acquire knowledge and thinking skills by exposing themselves to various
activities. There is no time restriction because KBSR and KSSR serve education on
an ongoing effort based on lifelong learning. Although the type of schools may vary,
however the curriculum is all same. The transformation from KBSR to KSSR include
reduction of school hours by 120 min, increase in English period from 2 to 5,
increase in Malay language to 10, reduction of Mathematics subject from 10 to 6
and the abolished of Mathematics and Science in English.
I believe that KSSR is more practical and beneficial in our education
system. According to an article on Tuesday, September 27th 2011, Putrajaya, KSSR
receives positive feedback from parents as well as teachers which catch and
increased the interest of learning English among students. The article mentioned
that KSSR approach focus on a fun way of learning in which I fully agree with. One of
the statement mentioned by Education Deputy Director-General (Policy), Prof Dr
Khair Mohamad Yusof that shows why KSSR is the best approach
" KSSR not only emphasizes on language proficiency, but also communication
among the students. It also uses other methods such as games and music."
I agree that students nowadays love focusing on the modern way of learning with
the help of technology instead of learning in a traditional way which only uses the
chalks and blackboards. Students easily feel bored because there is no center of
attraction in the learning process. Normally primary students especially Year 1,2 and
3 love colors, pictures, animations, games, videos and music which will help them
learn better. Students will feel motivated to participate actively to complete the
activities or tasks since the tasks are also student-centered. Hence, while enjoying
the games and activities, students will the language too because they will learn how
to express their feelings, thoughts and opinions conveying the real message.
Besides, this method will also encourage fluent communication among students as
well as the teachers at the same time working cooperatively with each other. Why

do we think Ministry of Education come up with the implementation of KSSR? This is

simply because they want to overcome the shortcomings and drawbacks in KBSR so
that they can prepare future generation that will be able to face the challenges in
society. Therefore, the Ministry of Education find it necessary to make those
changes to fulfill the needs and meet the challenges in the future. The changes
made include curriculum, assessment, teacher training and monitoring, teaching
and learning approaches. This transformation of curriculum will also provide fun
learning based on critical, creativity and innovation that eventually will abolish the
exam oriented system in our education. Besides, teacher will be able to identify the
students' needs and make different adjustments to their teaching methods that will
meet the students' learning styles because not all the students have the same
understanding and speed of retrieving the input since some are fast learners, slow
learners, average learners and also some of them are learning disabilities students.
Concluding my whole point of view, although the KBSR and KSSR more or
less are similar to each other, but KSSR is much more beneficial because it helps to
develop the cognitive thinking of students as well as motivating them to give their
fullest learning in a fun way.
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