{
  "id": 4325273,
  "title": "‘They are not free’: Chinese independent schools need fees, management board association chief reminds parents",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/29/they-are-not-free-chinese-independent-schools-need-fees-management",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-29T23:00:38.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Borneo Post Online",
    "slug": "borneo-post-online",
    "url": "https://www.theborneopost.com/2026/08/30/they-are-not-free-chinese-independent-schools-need-fees-management-board-association-chief-reminds-parents/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "SIBU, Aug 30: Independent Chinese secondary schools in Sarawak are not free, according to the chairman of the Sarawak United Association of Private Chinese School Management Boards, Temenggong Dato Vincent Lau. These schools are not part of the national compulsory education system and rely on school fees to cover their operational costs. Lau emphasized that smaller Chinese independent schools often kept fees low to attract students and ease the financial burden on parents. However, he expressed concern that some parents treated these schools similarly to compulsory government education, requesting fee exemptions despite their financial capability.\n\nLau highlighted that Chinese independent secondary schools primarily depend on donations from the Chinese community and limited government allocations. Despite receiving special allocations from both the Sarawak and federal governments in recent years, small and medium-sized schools continue to face funding shortages. He noted that these schools faced challenges even with low monthly fees from students and rising operating costs. Lau called on the Sarawak and federal governments to increase annual allocations to these schools to help alleviate their financial burdens. He also emphasized that Citizen Middle School, a small Chinese independent secondary school with 127 students and 12 teachers, would persist in enhancing its facilities, infrastructure, and educational quality despite the difficulties.",
  "summary": "SIBU (Aug 30): Chinese independent secondary schools are not part of the national compulsory education system and therefore are not free of charge, said Temenggong Dato Vincent Lau. The Sarawak United Association of Private Chinese School Management Boards chairman said as privately run institutions, the collection of school fees was necessary to maintain their basic [...] The post ‘They are not…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}