Recent reports indicate a growing trend of prestigious international schools closing across China, with Beijing Fangcao Foreign Language School being the latest casualty. Industry insiders point to two main factors behind these school closures: China’s rapidly declining birth rate, which has significantly reduced the student population, and the country’s economic slowdown, which has impacted household incomes. As a result, many Chinese families can no longer afford the substantial costs associated with international education.
Fangcao Foreign Language School, established in 2018 in Beijing’s Shunyi District, was a collaborative venture between Bohua Education Group, Phoenix TV, Tencent Education, and Britain’s Kingwood School. The institution offered education from preschool through high school, with annual tuition fees around 100,000 yuan ($14,000).
The school’s closure follows a pattern of similar school closures across China. Notable examples include Beijing’s Nord Anglia School in Fangshan District, which closed in July after just five years of operation. In the same month, Shenzhen’s first private school, Haude Academy, reportedly accumulated debts of 170 million yuan. August saw the closure of Chengdu Foreign Language School’s Renshou campus despite nearly 1 billion yuan having been invested in the school.
The situation at Fangcao School became apparent when multiple wage dispute notices appeared at the local labor arbitration committee, and students began transferring out during the previous semester and summer break. The school’s last public communication was in June 2023, announcing a student-teacher art festival.
Source: Central News Agency (Taiwan), November 8, 2024
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202411080029.aspx