The Minister of Education during the media conference explained that the Primary School Assessment, PSR for 2021 which is scheduled to start on the 15th of November 2021 is to be carried out by using an Alternative Method which is the School Assessed Marks, SAM. The matter was informed by the consent of His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam, through reviews and taking into account the safety and well-being of students in the country.

The School Assessed Marks, SAM method covers the students' marks throughout 2021 recorded through School-Based Assessment. The school will provide a portfolio for each student. The portfolio must contain two types of substantial student works. The types of substantial works are: Assessments, tests or examinations using complete past examination question papers according to the number of subject components; Combination of questions taken from the past examination papers according to the format of previous PSR question papers; Qualifying Test question paper and Combination of Topical Test question paper. The selection of the type of assignments to be included in the portfolio is subject to the decision of the respective schools.

The Ministry of Education through the Examinations Department, the Department of Schools and Department of Private Education with The Ministry of Religious Affairs through the Department of Islamic Studies will coordinate the dissemination and sharing of the details of the School Assessed Marks implementation with the school, teachers concerned as well as parents and guardians. The Ministry of Education through the Examinations Department will ensure the value and integrity of the SAM assessment is fair, valid and equitable in which the SAM assessment will go through a Quality Assurance process.

Source: Radio Television Brunei