from the establishment until 1957, the school was running with private funding and donations from the locals. with the independence of the federation of malaya and in line with national policy, the board of governors agreed to accept the government funding and assistant for the administration of the school. it was renamed hwa chiao national type secondary school (sekolah menengah jenis kebangsaan hwa chiao) with the appointment of mr tseng hsi kuei as principal.