Chinese independent high school: Difference between revisions

{{UnreferencedMore citations needed|date=MarchOctober 20172021}}

[[Image:ChineseIndependentHighSchool003.jpg|thumb|220px| Confucian Independent High School ({{zh|s=尊孔独立中学 |p=Zūn Kǒng Dúlì Zhōngxué|bpmf=ㄗㄨㄣ ㄎㄨㄥˇㄉㄨˊㄌㄧˋㄓㄨㄥ ㄒㄩㄝˊ|c=|t=尊孔獨立中學}}) in Chinatown, [[Kuala Lumpur]].]]

[[Image:ChineseIndependentHighSchool004.jpg|thumb|220px|Photo of [[Tsun Jin High School]] ({{zh|s=循人中学 |p=Xún Rén Zhōngxué |bpmf=ㄒㄩㄣˊㄖㄣˊㄓㄨㄥ ㄒㄩㄝˊ}}), a Chinese independent high school in Kuala Lumpur. Visible on the building's walls are the names of donors who funded its construction. Naming a building after major donors is a common practice among Independent Chinese Highindependent high Schoolsschools]]

A '''Chinese independent high school''' ({{zh|s=华文独立中学|t=華文獨立中學 |p=Huáwén Dúlì Zhōngxué |bpmf=ㄏㄨㄚˊㄨㄣˊㄉㄨˊㄌㄧˋㄓㄨㄥ ㄒㄩㄝˊ}}) is a type of [[private school|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 [[Standard Mandarin|Mandarin Chinese]] withusing [[simplified Chinese characters]] writing.

There are a total of 60<ref>not including Foon Yew High School Kulai Branch</ref> Chinese independent high schools in the country, including 23 from [[East Malaysia]], and they represent a small number of the high schools in Malaysia. The United Chinese School Committees Association of Malaysia (UCSCAM, the association of Chinese school teachers and trustees, {{zh|s=马来西亚华校董事联合会总会|t=馬來西亞華校董事聯合會總會 |p=Mǎláixīyà Huá Xiào Dǒngshì Liánhé Huì Zǒng Huì}}), also known as the Dong Jiao Zong ({{zh|s=董教总|t=董教總 |p=Dǒng Jiào 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.

After MalaysiaMalaya's independence in 1957, the government instructed all schools to surrender their properties and be assimilated into the National School system. This caused an uproar among the Chinese and a compromise was achieved in that the schools would instead become "National Type" schools. Under such a system, the government is only in charge of the school curriculum and teaching personnel while the lands still belonged to the schools. While Chinese primary schools were allowed to retain Chinese as the medium of instruction, Chinese secondary schools are required to change into English-medium schools. Over 60 schools converted to become National Type schools, including famous schools like [[Chung Ling High School]], [[Penang Chinese Girls' High School]] on Penang Island, [[Jit Sin High School]], andin [[Seberang Perai]] part of Penang as well as Ave Maria Convent High School]], and [[SMJK Sam Tet|Sam Tet High School]] in [[Ipoh]], [[Perak]]. While the medium language for most subjects is switched to English as according to the proposal, the teaching and learning of Mandarin remained compulsory in these schools, with most of them dedicating at least one seventh to one fifth of their teaching time per week to Mandarin studies.

This plan was still viewed as an unacceptable compromise amongst some Chinese, and a minority of the Chinese schools refused the proposal and became private high schools or Chinese independent high schools as they were later called. This concept slowly gained popularity and, during the 1960s and 70s, many of the National Type high schools reopened their independent high school branch. Their numbers continued to grow until a period when the political situation in Malaysia made it impossible to set up additional independent Chinese high schools. Currently there are 60 independent Chinese high schools in Malaysia, including [[Foon Yew High School]], which is the largest secondary school in the country with over 700010,000 students. Foon Yew High School was the first school to refuse the government's proposal, as well as the first high school to have atwo branch campuscampuses (located in Kulai and Bandar Seri Alam). The second largest is [[Chong Hwa Independent High School, Kuala Lumpur]], which is known for its excellent academic performance as well as award-winning performance in inter-school competitions.

In the end, six high schools out of the 18 refused to convert to teaching in English; they were the Chung Hua Middle School No.1, Chung Hua Middle School No.3, Chung Hua Middle School No.4, Guong Ming Middle School, Kiang Hin Middle School and Kai Dee Middle School. The rest of the school which converted into English medium schools ended up as "Sekolah Kebangsaan" after Sarawak joined Malaysia. In 19831973, these English medium schools were once again converted into using Bahasa Malaysia as the medium of teaching.

In Sabah, all of the nine Chinese independent high schools in the state were formed in between 1960 and 19691968.

BecauseAs the UEC is not recognised by the Malaysian government, some Chinese independent high schools opt to teach the national secondary school curriculum (in Malay) alongside the independent school curriculum (in Chinese) and require students to sit for the government standardised tests ([[Penilaian Menengah Rendah|PMR]]PT3, [[Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia|SPM]] or even [[Sijil Tinggi Pelajaran Malaysia|STPM]]) as private school candidates, providing the students an opportunity to obtain government-recognised certificates.

Chinese educationalist Dr Kua Kia Soong mentions the introduction of the UEC in his book ''Protean Saga: The Chinese Schools of Malaysia''. According to the book, the introduction of the UEC led to [[Mahathir Mohamad|Dr Mahathir Mohamad]], the then Minister of Education and later the Prime Minister of Malaysia, summoning the Chinese educationalists to parliament. To quote the book, "The latter (Mahathir) did not mince his words but told the Dong Jiao Zong leaders that UEC had better not be held or else ... He did not ask for any response and dismissed the Chinese educationalists with a curt ... 'that is all'."

===Medium of teachinginstruction===

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