Language school closes doors on students

By Meng Jing and Liu Baijia (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-10-26 09:10

Language school closes doors on students
Foreign participants in the Beijing Foreign Language Festival on Saturday exchange ideas with local residents dressed in Peking opera costumes at the Ancestral Temple. [China Daily/Wang Yuyi]

Nearly 400 foreign language learners in Beijing may face up to 4 million yuan ($587,000) of financial losses after a major language training company suspended operation last Wednesday.

The company, Real Life English (RLE), closed all three of its schools in Beijing without informing students in advance, claiming it was a temporary shutdown due to a shortage of capital.

Around 50 students talked with the company's representative on Saturday, who identified herself only as Amanda, an American.

"We had fewer students this year due to the swine flu and global financial crisis. For no reason, all the landlords asked for money from us on the same day. Since we couldn't afford it, we had to close all the schools in Beijing," she said.

Language school closes doors on students

"This problem will definitely be solved; it is just a matter of time," Amanda said. "My boss is currently in Sweden and very busy, but I'm waiting for his reply."

Guo Wenzhe, a 50-year-old student in RLE and in charge of the student negotiations, said they are gathering evidence for the courts in case they fail to get a reasonable reply by tomorrow.

Guo, who works for a foreign logistics company in Beijing, said he had been tricked.

"They called me on Oct 17 saying my class had been cancelled because the electricity supply had been cut off. I went to class on Saturday, but I found the school was closed and all the teachers and teaching facilities were gone," he told METRO.

Guo said he spent 13,000 yuan for his one-year English course, which was supposed to continue until next March.

"I think the company did this on purpose. They had a huge discount in August, trying to get more students. Now they are running away with the money we've paid," he said.

It is estimated that nearly 400 students, both Chinese and international, are currently registered with RLE. Tuition fees range from between 8,000 and 10,000 yuan.

Yuan Lina paid 9,700 yuan for a one-year course but attended less than 10 lessons. "I just want my money back. The teaching quality will not be guaranteed if we transfer to other English training schools," she told METRO.

Calls to the company's office went unanswered Sunday and their official website posted no notice to inform the public of the problem.

The case is under investigation by the Chaoyang district education committee, Beijing Times reported. After the Vivid English Club (VEC) went bankrupt last December, the committee asked 13 English training organizations to accept their students.