KUALA LUMPUR – More than two-thirds of Chinese secondary school students in Malaysia are studying in schools under the Education Ministry, according to the latest government data.
Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek said ministry statistics for this year showed that 260,699 Chinese students were enrolled in government secondary schools.
Another 75,144 Chinese students are studying at Chinese Independent Secondary Schools that offer the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) system, while 51,563 are enrolled in private educational institutions.
“This brings the total number of Chinese secondary school students to 387,406. Based on the data, 19.4 per cent of Chinese students are under the UEC education system, 67.3 per cent are in secondary schools under the Education Ministry, and 13.3 per cent are in private educational institutions,” she said in a written parliamentary reply published on the Parliament website.
Fadhlina was responding to a question from Datuk Ahmad Saad @ Yahaya (PN-Pokok Sena), who asked the ministry to provide the percentage of Chinese students pursuing secondary education through the UEC system compared with those enrolled in the national education stream.
The figures come as Chinese Independent Secondary Schools and the recognition of the UEC continue to attract public attention.
Last month, the United Chinese School Committees’ Association of Malaysia (Dong Zong) revealed that enrolment at Chinese independent schools nationwide had dropped below 80,000 students after reaching a peak of around 81,000 previously.
Citing a Sin Chew Daily report, Dong Zong chairman Tan Yew Sing warned that some schools could face significant challenges in attracting students and might even risk closure if the declining enrolment trend persisted.
He called on Chinese independent schools to increase efforts to enrol more non-Chinese students, attract international students and enhance education quality to address the impact of declining birth rates among the Malaysian Chinese community.
Dong Zong introduced the UEC in 1975 as an examination system for Chinese Independent Secondary Schools after the schools opted out of the national curriculum in 1961 to maintain Chinese-medium education.
The qualification is recognised as academically equivalent to the Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia (STPM) and international A-level qualifications.
The debate over the UEC has also resurfaced following a recent public exchange between Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir and Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming regarding a policy allowing qualified UEC holders to apply for admission to public universities.
Zambry had earlier criticised Nga for accusing the Higher Education Ministry of being “slow like a turtle” in implementing the policy. He described Nga’s reported remarks as “irresponsible”, stressing that Cabinet decisions were made collectively and required coordination between several ministries and agencies, including the Education Ministry. – July 16, 2026