Hooray!!! It’s SPM trial! (2010) – Johor
July 30, 2010
Attention: The Johor state SPM trial will start on 12/8/2010! Every Form 5 students will need to start and get busy preparing for the trial! For the other states in Malaysia, the date should not deviate too far from it either. (The “hooray” was just to loosen up the stressful environment)
SPM Trial 2010 – Johor State : 12th August 2010
Please note that the SPM trial examinations is to be taken seriously. This is due to the trials being:
- used as forecast results for your SPM in event you wish to start applying for colleges earlier and have not yet obtained your results.
- used as forecast for early scholarship application. (although most likely that the final decision is pending your actual SPM results)
- a chance for you to gauge your ability prior to the actual SPM. This allows you to identify your weaker points and give you a warning to work on it.
So, all Berry Readers would have to sharpen their mind and 2B pencil! Students need to get prepare simple notes. For some general tips for SPM trials:
- Chemistry: Get ready with Periodic Table and Electrochemical series.
- Biology: Get ready with all the mechanisms, structures (ruminant and non-ruminant), blood circulation and processes!
Good luck to all taking the trials examination.
UPSR and PMR, Abolished?
June 24, 2010
Will Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) be the only compulsory national examination under the Malaysian national school system? There are discussions about it and Berry Berry Easy would like to bring to attention this news on June 20th, 2010 to all our Berry Readers.
Ujian Penilaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) and Penilaian Menengah Rendah (PMR), Abolished?
The news in snippets:
General:
- Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin (which is also Malaysia’s present Deputy Prime Minister) has announce the possible abolishment of the PMR and UPSR examinations.
- UPSR is the compulsory school leaving national examination for Standard 6 students in Malaysia.
- PMR is the compulsory examination taken during Form 3 to gauge a student’s level before checking their suitability for art/science stream.
- If the two are abolished, this will leave SPM as the only compulsory national-level examination for school going children in Malaysia.
- STPM is not considered compulsory as not all student undergo Form 6.
Reasons given:
- It is said that the current system is seen as too examination oriented and failed to provide a holistic education. (So removal of UPSR and PMR will reduce the examination element of the whole system)
- It is also possible that both the UPSR and PMR be retained but have its nature changed from public examination to school-based assessments.
- However, no decision will be made yet (or near future) as the public would be required to give feedback.
- It is also said that for employment/job seeking, only SPM is needed, hence only one public examination will suffice.
Possible benefits of abolishing UPSR and PMR:
- It is said that with only SPM as the sole public examination, teachers and students can care less for exams and focus on improving creativity, interactivity, sports and co-curricular activities.
Opinions so far:
- Jais Abdul Karim (President of the Federation of Peninsular Malay Students (GPMS)) believe that the abolishment will strengthen the education system and produce students who are more focused. Also mentioned tha the current system is too exam-oriented which stresses out students. This caused students to study blindly in order to pass exams without truly understand the use of it in the future. However, he said that a new method or mechanism would need to be formulated to gauge the achievement of students in event this proposal is followed through.
- Hashim Adnan (President of the National Union of the Teaching Profession (NUTP)) said that UPSR should be maintained as it has its relevance. UPSR will serve to motivate primary school students to strive hard in their studies. However, he thinks that PMR could be abolished as the exams do not serve any purpose beyond determination of streams for students entering Form 4.
- Abdul Karim Abdullah (the liaison officer for the Malaysia Education Service Ex-Officers Association (PBPPPM) said that the abolishment is appropriate to allow teachers and students to gain more time to focus on co-curiculum and sports activities.
So what’s your take on this? Aye or nay to the abolishment of the UPSR and PMR examinations?
Announcement : 4th JB Land Scout Campfire 2010
June 15, 2010
Behold! One of the most anticipated event of the year in the district of JB is here. Without further adieu, let Berry Berry Easy share the news of the 46th Anniversary Campfire and 11th Annual Competition with all Berry Readers. The annual event for this year will last 2 days which will be held on the 16th-17th June 2010. You can be assured that you’ll have fun with an event from 4th JB Land Scout, an organisation with 46 year of history on its cap.
4th JB Land Scout 46th Anniversary Campfire and 11th Annual Competition
Title: 46th Anniversary Campfire & 11th Annual Competition
Date: 16-17 June 2010
Venue: SMK Dato’ Jaafar, Johor Bahru
Theme: Zeal, Amity, Harmony, Steadfastness
Competitions (planned):
- Pertandingan Kawad Kaki Berformat
- Pertandingan Memasak (Moden)
- Pertandingan Rekaan Banner
- Pertandingan Halangan Komando
- Pertandingan Persembahan / Tarian
Organised by:
- President : Chew Shu Ren
- Secretary : Ronald Ang Yu Chye
- Treasurer : Benedict Tan Wen Liang
- Quarter Master : Cheng Farn Liang
- AJK : Lim Zhi Yang
Lee Wee Han - All members of the 4th JB Land Scout Troop
Why you should attend the campfire/competition (in Berry Berry Easy’s Opinion):
- To make lifelong friendship with people from other schools
- To spend your holiday in a more meaningful manner
- To gauge your strengths through competitive and healthy competition
- To have endless fun through the events organised
- To be part of an event you’ll be talking about many years after you leave school
So, what are you waiting for? Drop by, register and participate for the event.
(More details to follow. These are just preliminary information)
Self-accreditation Status for Universities in Malaysia
June 12, 2010
In a recent development in the issue of accreditation of university programmes (May 2010), it was announced by the Higher Education Ministry that eight institutes of higher learning do not require to go through the Malaysian Qualification Agency (MQA) to accredit their courses. This meant that the eight universities has the autonomy to accredit their current and future courses. Berry Berry Easy would like to highlight this to our readers so they are aware of this development. This will be useful for those who are doubtful on the accreditation status of newer courses from certain universities.
Self-accreditation Status for Universities in Malaysia – Those that achieved the status
Public Universities
- Universiti Malaya (UM)
- Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM)
- Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM)
- Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM)
* Note that the four mentioned universities are the top 4 as rated by Berry Berry Easy in an earlier post.
Private Universities
- University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus
- Monash University Sunway Campus
- Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak
- Curtin University of Technology Sarawak
So what does this means?
- MQA conducted an audit on these universities (September 2009-March 2010) based on the Code of Practice in Institutional Audit to ensure quality at the universities based on fixed requirements and guidelines.
- Only universities which met the criteria are awarded this status.
- Four aspects in the accreditation system are:
- Temporary accreditation process
- Full accreditation process
- Accreditation review
- Having a senate or highest academic committee to finalise the accreditation
- So the aforementioned universities would have to develop their own internal system which mimic at least the four aspects.
- However, for courses that involved professional bodies, it must still go through accreditation and recognition by their respective professional bodies.
- MQA however will still monitor the accreditation process from time to time.
So for those applying to universities, especially private universities, you might want to check out the accreditation status of your courses.
School Holidays (Term Holidays) in Malaysia 2010
June 1, 2010
Now that the mid-year holidays are approaching, Berry Berry Easy has been receiving a couple of questions regarding the holidays dates. As different areas in Malaysia have different holiday dates, we thought it will be useful if we publish out the dates for our Berry Readers as reference. However, before you get all hype out about your holidays, do navigate past your exams first and try to score flying colours on all your papers. Do check out the notes at this website to complement your study material.
School Holidays (Term Holidays) in Malaysia 2010
Group A (Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu)
Mid-Term Holidays : 11 March 2010 – 20 March 2010 – 9 days
Mid-Year Holidays : 04 June 2010 – 19 June 2010 – 16 days
Mid-Term Holidays : 03 September 2010 – 11 September 2010 – 9 days
Year End Holidays : 19 November 2010 – 1 January 2011 – 44 days
Total Term Holiday Days : 78 days
Group B (Johor, Malacca, Negri Sembilan, Selangor, Perak, Penang, Pahang, Sabah, Sarawak and the three Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Labuan)
Mid-Term Holidays : 13 March 2010 – 21 March 2010 – 9 days
Mid-Year Holidays : 05 June 2010 – 20 June 2010 – 16 days
Mid-Term Holidays : 04 September 2010 – 12 September 2010 – 9 days
Year End Holidays : 20 November 2010 – 2 January 2011 – 44 days
Total Term Holiday Days : 78 days
As a reminder, do spend your holidays in a more meaningful way. Go out and enjoy outdoor activities rather than just playing computer games at home. Do volunteer jobs if you are inclined to do so. In short, spend your holidays wisely. Studying is optional as some students require recharging of their “study batteries”. So plan your time and finish up your homework (if any) then enjoy the rest of your holidays. Don’t do last minute work.
Search Engine Keywords for Berry Berry Easy – 15 April to 16 May 2010
May 17, 2010
It has been six months since Berry Berry Easy exists to serve the upper secondary student population in Malaysia. Hence, it would be beneficial for Berry Berry Easy to examine what Berry Readers look for before they get ushered into the site.
Search Engine Keywords for Berry Berry Easy – 15 April to 16 May 2010
| Rank | Keywords from Search Engine | Frequency |
| 1 | form 6 | 245 |
| 2 | biology form 4 notes | 132 |
| 3 | stpm chemistry | 119 |
| 4 | berry berry easy | 89 |
| 5 | chemistry form 4 notes | 87 |
| 6 | chemistry form 4 | 67 |
| 7 | form 6 2010 | 63 |
| 8 | biology form 4 | 59 |
| 9 | teachers day Malaysia | 38 |
| 10 | chemistry form 5 notes | 37 |
As Berry Berry Easy provides study notes, it is only fitting that keywords searches which link to this website are majorly related to upper secondary study notes for science subjects. We are in the process of doing a post-mortem on the successes and failure in how we serve the student community. So this search engine feedback gives us clue that students in Malaysia do really want extra notes to complement what is available in the textbooks, revision books and teacher’s notes. We also notice a spike in visits in BerryBerryEasy during Teacher’s day, so there is interest on happenings around schools.
All in all, from the analysis of search engine survey, we have decided to provide more notes and provide updates to students on important dates. However, we would also like your feedback on what we should also provide on BerryBerryEasy. We welcome all feedbacks.
Study in Kyoto University
May 11, 2010
Ever thought of studying in Japan after your STPM or UEC? Dream no longer and get on in the action of applying for a place in Kyoto University? Berry Berry Easy had the fortunate luck to be spotted by a Malaysian lecturer in Kyoto University by the name of Eddie Puay who has resided in Kyoto for 6 years. It is kind of him to be raising awareness regarding Kyoto University’s International undergraduate cource in Civil Engineering.
Study in Japan – Kyoto University International Undergraduate Course in Civil Engineering
The excerpt below is a comment posted by Eddie Puay on Berry Berry Easy
————–Start of Comment——————–
Konichiwa こんにちは,
I spotted your blog by chance.
The purpose of dropping a message here is to let u know about Kyoto University International undergraduate course in Civil Engineering.
I am a Malaysian, currently working as lecturer in Kyoto University, Japan under this International Course.
We are currently recruiting student for intake in next April 2011. We welcome application using either STPM or UEC results. Dont worry about your score first.
You can download the application form from here http://www.s-ge.t.kyoto-u.ac.jp/int/en.
I am Johorean myself and have been living here in Kyoto for 6 years ! (did my Master and Phd here).
It is my honor to help students from Johor !
Kindly spread this news to STPM holder ! Thank you.
A very informative blog u have.
Regards
——————End of comment———————
Updates:
- For those who wish to enroll in April 2010, the closing date for application is June 15th.
- For those who do not have TOEFL score, you can proceed submitting the application. TOEFL score can be submitted later.
- For inquiry : eddiepuay@gmail.com
So if you are interested, there is no harm checking out the website and download the application form. So as Eddie Puay says, don’t worry about your results first.
New Page in Berry Berry Easy – Study Notes Archive
May 4, 2010
Berry Berry Easy has been bombarded with e-mail requesting for an archive for the study notes as newer readers find it hard to access the older notes due to the blog format which requires many clicks to reach older archives. So yes! We have heard you and are taking steps to mitigate this problem to accommodate for newer readers who wants to have an easier access to older pages. So do check out the tab at the top of the page labelled as “Study Notes”
Another thing that we are receiving many emails are regarding “list of schools” in whole of Malaysia and states in Malaysia. We will try our best to ring up all our contacts and list out the schools, especially Form 6 schools in your local area.
To another question which we have been receiving lately would be regarding tips for SPM and STPM 2010. The SPM and STPM tips for year 2010 will be out in 3-4 months time or even earlier depending on the trial’s date, so SPM and STPM students who might be interested in our tips can bookmark our site/link to blogs/promote in forums so that you can easily check back. Every single day counts in an exam year. Good luck to all and thank you for your continuing support to Berry Berry Easy. We exist to serve the student community.
So send in your questions or requests if you have any. We’ll try to reply as many as possible. For those that we do not reply, we might have already replied in our site, so do browse around for the answers.
