page_title: Kota Kinabalu
section_title: Education
hierarchical_section_title: Kota Kinabalu / Other utilities / Education
caption_attribution_description: English: Kota Kinabalu, Sabah: Politeknik Kota Kinabalu)
context_page_description: Kota Kinabalu is the state capital of Sabah, Malaysia. It is also the capital of the Kota Kinabalu District as well as the West Coast Division of Sabah. The city is located on the northwest coast of Borneo facing the South China Sea. The Tunku Abdul Rahman National Park lies to its west and Mount Kinabalu, which gave the city its name, is located to its east. Kota Kinabalu has a population of 452,058 according to the 2010 census; when the adjacent Penampang and Putatan districts are included, the metro area has a combined population of 628,725.
  In the 15th century, the area of Kota Kinabalu was under the influence of Bruneian Empire. In the 19th century, the British North Borneo Company first set up a settlement near the Gaya Island. However, it was destroyed by fire in 1897 by a local leader named Mat Salleh. In July 1899, the place located opposite to the Gaya Island was identified as a suitable place for settlements. Development in the area was started soon after that; and the place was named "Api-api" before it was renamed after the vice-chairman of BNBC as "Jesselton". Jesselton became a major trading port in the area, and was connected to the North Borneo Railway.
context_section_description: There are many government or state schools in and around the city. Among the well-established and prestigious boarding schools in Sabah is Sekolah Menengah Sains Sabah, formally known as Sekolah Berasrama Penuh Sabah (SBPS), which is in Bukit Padang. Other secondary schools are KK High School, SM La Salle, Sekolah Menengah Shan Tao, Sekolah Menengah Taman Tun Fuad, Sekolah Menengah Likas, Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Perempuan Likas, Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan St. Francis Convent, Sekolah Menengah All Saints, Sekolah Menengah Stella Maris, Sekolah Menengah Saint Michael, Maktab Sabah, Sekolah Menengah Lok Yuk, Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Agama Kota Kinabalu and Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Agama Tun Ahmadshah.
  There are independent private schools in the city. Among them are Sabah Tshung Tsin Secondary School, Kian Kok Middle School, Maktab Nasional and Seri Insan Secondary School.
  Classes usually begin at 7 am and end at 1 pm except for boarding schools where classes begins as early as 6.30 am and end at 2 pm. Children age 7 must attend primary education, which consists of six years of learning, while those age 13 can pursue their studies in lower secondary education for three years. After completing their Lower Secondary Examination, students enter Upper Secondary education, where they will be streamed into either the Science or the Arts stream based on their examination results. Students who choose to study at boarding schools will be placed into the Science stream. Currently, there are four boarding schools in Sabah.
  There are two international schools teaching the British Curriculum. Sayfol International School Sabah teaches from kindergarten to the GCE 'A' Levels, which is taken at age 18 (pre-university). Sayfol International School is the sister school of the established and highly successful Sayfol International School in Kuala Lumpur. Kinabalu International School (KIS) is part of the Federation of British International Schools in South and East Asia (FOBISSEA). Both English medium schools are in Bukit Padang. Other international schools are the Kinabalu Japanese School, one of four Japanese schools in Malaysia and the Kota Kinabalu Indonesian School. Both schools cater to children of Japanese and Indonesian expatriates working and living around the city.
  Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS), founded in 1994, is the largest university in Sabah. Its main campus is on a 999-acre (4.04 km²) piece of land, on a hill facing the South China Sea at Sepanggar Bay, about 10 kilometres north of the city centre. A 6 hectare botanical garden was proposed for its campus in 2010. It has branch campuses in Labuan and Sandakan. The oldest university in Sabah is Universiti Teknologi MARA Sabah which was co-founded by UiTM and Yayasan Sabah in 1973. It has been certified by the Kota Kinabalu City Hall as a litter-free university.
  There are private colleges and one polytechnic operating in the city, which are Universiti Tun Abdul Razak, AlmaCrest International College, INTI College, Kinabalu Commercial College, Jesselton College, Informatics College, Kota Kinabalu Polytechnic and Institut Sinaran. The established Public College Tunku Abdul Rahman is in the Donggongon area. Many affluent residents send their children overseas to pursue secondary or tertiary education.
caption: Kota Kinabalu Polytechnic.
exif: {"Image Make": "SONY", "Image Model": "DSLR-A700", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "300", "Image YResolution": "300", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 6.0 (Windows)", "Image DateTime": "2015:07:13 23:01:24", "Image Artist": "CEphoto; Uwe Aranas", "Image ExifOffset": "234", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "900", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "16137", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/200", "EXIF FNumber": "10", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Landscape Mode", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "200", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0230", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2012:08:04 05:46:46", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2012:08:04 05:46:46", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "477741/62500", "EXIF ApertureValue": "415241/62500", "EXIF BrightnessValue": "837/100", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "361/100", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF LightSource": "Unknown", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, auto mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "16", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "2989557/16384", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "2989557/16384", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "4", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "0", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "24", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Landscape", "EXIF Contrast": "Normal", "EXIF Saturation": "Normal", "EXIF Sharpness": "Normal", "EXIF LensSpecification": "[16, 105, 7/2, 28/5]", "EXIF LensModel": "DT 16-105mm F3.5-5.6"}