All these days, I’ve been visited a lot by foreign educators seeking to open schools in Dalian, and most of times, none of them have any idea as to what would be involved and as to what the costs would be.
I made a research and here is my report of this question.
Rules & Regulations
The rules and regulations that govern the setting-up schools include Education Law of PRC, Vocational Education Law of PRC, Higher Education Law of PRC, and Private Education Promotion Law of the PRC. All these laws provide that foreign organizations and persons can set up schools with Chinese organizations, but there are no more specific rules about how to cooperate between the parties. All the details are reserved to be explained by the State Council.
After China’s entry into the WTO, Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Chinese-Foreign Cooperation in Running Schools was enacted, also with its Concrete Measures. However, this Regulation mainly governs the cooperation between foreign educational institutions and Chinese educational institutions (see Article 2). That is to say, for individual foreigners, they even have no qualification to be governed by this Regulation.
Therefore, the answer is individual foreigner can not set up schools in China to provide education service to Chinese citizens. Foreign investors can only establish schools for children of foreign personnel under Interim Regulations for the Administrion of Establishement of Schools for Children of Foreign Personnel by the Ministry of Educaion of PRC.
Alternative Solution:
After reading the above, maybe you would feel depressed a lot. Don’t be disappointed, if you determine to create a business and make some kind of achievement in China as a teacher or a headmaster, there is a compromise way for you—that is to be affiliated to a school or training center with an education license. We call it “Gua Kao”(挂靠) in Chinese.
Gua Kao is to use the other’s license and run one’s own business. All the operation has to be under the other’s name, including issuing invoices. Legally, Gua Kao is a kind of cooperation between the foreign educator and the Chinese school. A complete agreement seems to be necessary and essential for both parties. Actually, the approval of an education license is very hard even for most of Chinese. The requirement of scale and capital for schools is much stricter than the requirement for common businesses. Quite a lot of business starters choose to be adjunct of other schools. Like licensing, the starters pay fees to the schools with license.
During the process of finding your partner, the school with license, do make a due diligence research and make sure they really possess the license.
Good News:
Maybe you still feel worried for using the other’s license. Even the Agreement is “perfect drafted”, there are still some concerns, e.g. if you intends to do a long term business, or if you want to promote your own brand.
Up to now, there is still no good resolution. In Catalogue for the Guidance of Foreign Investment Industries (2007), higher education is encouraged but skill traing is not mentioned. 2007 version has been implemented for almost 4 years. Recently, National Development and Reform Commission and Ministry of Commerce has recitified the Gatalogue and the draft is issued for comments. In the Draft for Comment, skill training is listed in the Catagory of Encouraged Foreign Investment Industries. We can believe that in the near future, when this new version is issued, the relevant governmental organs would issue detailed implementing procedures. At that time, for those who dreams to open language schools in China, all come to true.
Now I know who the brainy one is, Ill keep lokonig for your posts.
The adult education category overlaps all three of the above categories. Adult primary education includes Workers¡¯ Primary Schools, Peasants¡¯ Primary Schools, and literacy classes. Adult secondary education includes radio/TV specialized secondary schools, specialized secondary school for cadres, specialized secondary schools for staff and workers, specialized secondary schools for peasants, in-service teacher training schools and correspondence specialized secondary schools. Adult higher education includes radio/TV universities, cadre institutes, workers¡¯ colleges, peasant colleges, correspondence colleges, and educational colleges. Most of the above offer both two- and three-year short-cycle curricula; only a few also offer regular undergraduate curricula.