Nearly 1 in 5 Chinese secondary students enrolled in UEC system, Dewan told
Data presented in the Malaysian parliament shows that nearly 20% of Chinese secondary students are enrolled in the independent UEC education system. Officials are concerned about declining enrollment rates due to lower birth rates.
Why it matters
It highlights demographic shifts and the challenges facing specialized ethnic-based education systems in a national context.
Last month, Dong Zong said the total number of students at Chinese independent schools nationwide had fallen below 80,000, after reaching a peak of about 81,000.
PETALING JAYA: A total of 75,144 Chinese students were enrolled in Chinese independent high schools as of this year, accounting for 19.4% of the 387,406 Chinese secondary school students nationwide.
In a written parliamentary reply, education minister Fadhlina Sidek said the remaining students were enrolled in schools under the education ministry (260,699 or 67.3%) and private education institutions (51,563 or 13.3%).
She was asked by Ahmad Yahaya (PN-Pokok Sena) about the percentage of Chinese students enrolled in the UEC education system compared with those attending national-type schools.
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