Students usually spend six years in a Chinese Independent High School. The six years are divided into two stages: three years in junior middle and three years in senior middle, similar to the secondary school systems in
mainland China and
Taiwan. Students are
streamed into tracks like Science or Art/Commerce in the senior middle stage. At the end of each stage, students sit for the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC). A few schools offer an additional year in senior middle, catering to students taking the government's
Sijil Tinggi Pelajaran Malaysia (STPM, equivalent to
A-level).
Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) The Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) (, ) is a standardised test for Chinese independent high school students organised by the UCSCAM since 1975. As 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 (PT3,
SPM or even
STPM) as private school candidates, providing the students an opportunity to obtain government-recognised certificates. In 2014,
Sarawak was the first to recognise UEC, followed by
Penang,
Selangor, and
Malacca. In 2019,
Sabah followed suit in recognising the examination. The following year it was reaffirmed by the region premiership. In September 2025, Sabah further announce that it will recognise the UEC for state scholarship and enrolment in state-owned higher learning institutions. By October 2025, an official circular recognising the examination qualification for Chinese independent secondary schools within the region was released. ==See also==