Chinese independent high school

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Chinese independent high school" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (October 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

A Chinese independent high school (simplified Chinese: 华文独立中学; traditional Chinese: 華文獨立中學; pinyin: Huáwén Dúlì Zhōngxué) is a type of private high school in Malaysia. They provide secondary education in the Chinese language as the continuation of the primary education in Chinese national-type primary schools. The main medium of instruction in these schools is Mandarin Chinese using simplified Chinese characters.

The United Chinese School Committees Association of Malaysia (UCSCAM, the association of Chinese school trustees, simplified Chinese: 马来西亚华校董事联合会总会; traditional Chinese: 馬來西亞華校董事聯合會總會; pinyin: Mǎláixīyà Huá Xiào Dǒngshì Liánhé Huì Zǒng Huì), also known as the Dong Zong (simplified Chinese: 董总; traditional Chinese: 董總; pinyin: Dǒng Zǒng), coordinates the curriculum used in the schools and organises the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) standardised test. Despite this, the schools are independent of each other and are free to manage their own affairs.

Chinese independent high schools represent a small number of high schools in Malaysia. The number of Chinese independent high schools differed among sources, ranging from 60 to 63, due to the ambiguous status of SM Chong Hwa Kuantan and whether branch campuses count as separate schools. In 2020, UCSCAM adopted the "60+2+1" formula in describing the number of Chinese independent high schools:^[1]

• 60 Chinese independent high schools originated from the aftermath of school conversions in the 1960s
• 2 branch campuses of Foon Yew High School (Kulai branch and Bandar Seri Alam branch)
• 1 private school allowed to participate in the UEC examinations (SM Chong Hwa Kuantan)

Being private schools, Chinese independent high schools do not receive consistent funding from the Malaysian government, although they did receive some funding from some state governments as well as in the 2019 and 2020 budgets under the Pakatan Harapan government. However, in accordance with their aim of providing affordable education to all in the Chinese language, their school fees are substantially lower than those of most other private schools. The schools are kept alive almost exclusively by donations from the public.