More than 500 education training organizations around Shanghai are closing down after failing to meet standards.
According to the City Government’s Information Office, inspections carried out by the Shanghai Education Commission of nearly 7,000 organizations found that only a quarter had the required qualifications and licenses to operate.
Of the more than 1,300 centers found to be operating without either a licenses or any certificates, 502 were providing training courses relating to primary and middle schools. These are all on the closure list.
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The majority of those found to be lacking documentation had business licenses but no certificates or relevant qualifications to train others. These establishments were ordered to rectify their problems by arranging for staff to get properly qualified and for their current students to be trained by a qualified agency.
They are to immediately cease recruiting any more students, withdraw education-related advertising, reduce size and take on no new contracts. They must also refund paying customers if they are unable to find properly qualified agencies to complete the remaining courses.
Shanghai is now aiming to improve its control of educational training services, making organizations adhere to their rules and regulations.
This will be done through more examinations of training providers, further requirements for approval and greater supervision. Standards will be higher. With teachers, qualifications, venues, study materials and how the organization displays itself being looked at more thoroughly.
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This education crackdown has come after China's government recently made it easier for foreigners to get a work permit and visa post-graduate.
In January of this year, the government announced that foreigners who have completed a master’s program within the last year, at a Chinese or well-known international institution, can obtain a Z visa in the Chinese mainland without prior experience.
Previously, foreigners would have needed a minimum of two years work experience post-graduate to have a chance of making it through the application process.
China wants to have more control of its education institutions, and how they are run and still requires foreigners to be qualified. But it would appear that where some areas are becoming more strict, others are becoming more relaxed.
