1. 1
Chinese
Educational
Market
Opportunities
Ohana Foundation
2004-2005 Snapshot
November 5, 2004
Carlos F. Camargo, Ph.D.

2. 2
Content
General Situation
Opportunities
Challenges
Degree/non degree
Visa Situation

3. 3
General Education System
•Nine-year compulsory education system
•Upper secondary education is non-compulsory
and lasts three years, with students generally
graduating when they are 18 years old.
•National Entrance Exam - Students with high
school graduation certificates who wish to
enroll in higher education must first pass a
strict enrollment exam.
•Kindergarten, primary school, junior and
senior middle (secondary) school, and
institutions of higher education.

4. 4
Chinese Education System
The Chinese education system is composed of
• Kindergarten
• 3-6 age
• not compulsory, can do JV
• Primary school
• begins at 6, continues for six years
• compulsory, can not do JV
•Junior and senior middle (secondary) school
• begins at 12, continues for six years
• junior is compulsory, senior is not
• Institutions of higher education.

5. 5
Higher Education
•Higher education is provided by universities and
colleges, specialized colleges and vocational
colleges.
•Colleges and universities offer four-year
undergraduate programs, as well as graduate
programs, which lead to Master’s and Doctoral
degrees.
•Vocational colleges and some specialized
colleges offer two or three-year diploma
programs.

6. 6
Higher Education Figures
2000 figures
Higher Education 11 million in school 11% E.R.
Master-School students 301,000
Plan by 2005
Higher Education 16 million in school 15% E.R.
Master-School students 600,000
Plan by 2010
Higher Education 23 million in school 20% E.R.
Master-School students 1,000,000

7. 7
Opportunities
•ESL, English training programs
•Corporate and group training
•Distance education, IT and other technologies
training
•MBA Programs
•EMBA Programs
•MPA Programs
•Financial Program Training
•Exchange of students
•Exchange of teachers
•Olympic English

8. 8
Market Entry Challenges
• VISAs: If your business plan depends on visas, plan
on failing
• Finding a suitable local partner can be hard
• Regulatory constraints
• Lack of transparency
• Unfamiliar government procedures and policies
(Central versus provincial)
• The Chinese market must be viewed as a number of
large markets with unique characteristics and
opportunities, requirements vary by program and
geographic area.

9. 9
Joint Degree Programs
China's educational institutions are not only seeking
opportunities to cooperate in business management,
but also in disciplines such as health care,
engineering, accounting, language, and advanced
technologies. Even China's State Council and
various Chinese ministries are eager to cooperate
with foreign institutions wishing to share curricula
and deliver joint degree or certificate programs.
MOE issued a new list of 97 approved degree
programs (Chinese universities with with foreign and
Hong Kong universities) as by December 24, 2003.

10. 10
Approval Process for JV
Degree Programs
•Find a reputable Chinese partner university
•Chinese university submits the following material to the
Academic Degrees Committee of State Council (ADCSC) by
the end of May or end of October every year.
•A request to establish a joint degree program;
•A cooperation memorandum of understanding and draft
agreement signed by both sides;
•A feasibility report which should at least include:the
necessity, feasibility and background of the program;
academic introduction of the degree issued by its
American partner university;information of its American
partner.
•Plan of joint program which should include:.work
plan;administration and management;student resources,
enrollment scale and method;teaching
courses;teachers; .finance and budget.

11. 11
MBA & Business
Education Market
•Beijing International MBA was the first U.S.
MBA program approved by MOE to deliver
U.S. degree in China (26 U.S. University
consortiums)
• Main competitor is China-Europe
International Business School
• For a degree program must have JV can’t
do WOFE
•Approval procedures are the same as JV
program

12. 12
Educational Software
• Most common forms are EFL training and
examination preparation software.
• A supplementary for regular education. May
educational websites offer supplementary material to
the middle school curriculum.
• Piracy is a very serious problem. Estimated
piracy rate is as high as 96% , resulting in an annual
loss of $14.7 billion.
• Encryption- if used to protect IPR content does not
need to be registered. Will also allow company to seek
criminal damages rather then civil if you end up in
court.

13. 13
Non Degree Programs
• Can be a WOFE in some training
areas, i.e., financial training for
Bank of China
• More of a gray area- no real regs
• Just need local MOE or relevant
local ministry approval

14. 14
Long Distance Education
•China invested $12 million to develop its web
based long distance education.
• 62 million Internet users
• Go West Project
• near 1/4 of China’s 1.3 billion people live
there
• geographic restrictions and poor infrastructure
• lack of qualified teaching staff and modern
curriculum
• Government is relaxing regulations in order to
attract foreign capital

15. 15
Olympic Need
• Beijing won the bid for 2008 Olympics
• Need at least 100,000 volunteers to have English
ability by 2008
• $ 500 million English & EFL training market
• 600,000 people attend English training courses
every year
• Beijing Municipal Government has “Beijing Citizens
Speak English” Campaign
• Beijing has 3.12 million English-speaking-
population
•By 2008, Beijing will have 5 million English-
speaking-population

16. 16
Special Needs Education
• China has a total of 20 million children who need
special education.
•China has 1,535 special schools in which 358,400
youngsters and adults who have physical or mental
problems are enrolled.
•The schools have pre-school, fundamental,
vocational and higher education programs.
• Training a physically disabled or mentally retarded
teenager costs an average of 4,000 yuan (US$482)
a year; while training a non-disabled teenager costs
1,200 yuan (US$145) annually.

17. 17
How to approach market
Do due diligence twice before entering
market-- then do it again.
Locate good & reputable partner
Attend educational & industry fairs
Hold presentations and seminars
Local representative office
Sandwich programs
Visit as often as possible

18. 18
VISAS- HUGE PROBLEM
• Get free, accurate information on applying for a
student visa. Visit the U.S. Embassy web site
(www.usembassy-china.org.cn).
•Law status guilty until proven innocent
•Student must be thoroughly prepared.
• Answer that questions asked. Don't give a prepared
speech.
• Tell the truth.
• Ties to China
• FE Database

19. 19
Summary
China is a difficult market
Visas are huge issue
Lots of competition
Not everyone is making money-
need long term outlook
DO DUE DILLIGENCE