GPMS president Zambri Mohd Isa told FMT the ministry should retain the present practice of separating students into different classes according to their ability and examination results.
He said placing fast and slow learners together in the same class would also cause problems to the teachers, who would have to vary their methods of delivering lessons.
Teachers would also tend to focus more on the better students, he added.
He was commenting on Deputy Education Minister Chong Sin Woon’s statement earlier this month that the ministry aimed to do away with the culture of “elite classes” in schools within the next three years.
He said schools and parents should focus on developing holistic education for the children rather than being overly exam-oriented.
“I worry that the slow learners will not be able to catch up if they are put together with the fast learners,” said Zambri.
“Because the level of students’ ability to absorb and understand certain topics is different, it would be hard for teachers to teach in a mixed class.”
He also said that class streaming would help boost students’ motivation to study hard.
“Students will have the desire to compete and study harder to get into the top class, which becomes a benchmark for them to aspire to.”
Educationist Zakaria Kasa of the National Professors Council said there were pros and cons in streaming students according to their abilities.
For instance, he said, slow learners or weak students placed in one class would make it easier for teachers and schools to give special attention to them.
However, on the minus side, he said streaming the weaker students into the lower classes could stigmatise them for the rest of their school life.
By abolishing class streaming and mixing the good with the slower learners, students would be able to help each other in their studies.
“The weak students can get help from their friends who do well. This is called peer tutoring,” he said.
Parents that FMT spoke to were against the idea of doing away with class streaming.
Nuriah Ahmad, 47, said she was unhappy with the decision of not placing students in classes according to their achievements.
She said her 7-year-old daughter studied hard to get into the top class, and she was really sad to find that the streaming system would be abolished.
“I trained her every night, to make her prepare for her final exam, and to make sure that she would secure a place in the top class.
“However, the announcement (by the ministry) broke her heart and mine as well,” Nuriah said.
A mother of two, Zarina Hasim, said students would have no motivation to study hard if there was no class streaming to reward those who studied hard for their examinations.
The 37-year-old said class streaming was what made students eager to struggle in order to secure a place in the top class.
She said she could still remember when her son came home happily to show his examination results and was excited to move up to the second class from the last class.