Job Discussion Forums

[Vancouver Jim]

I understand that in a Shanghai (SH) Chinese-language newspaper on Sunday it was reported that WEB is looking into taking on some 2000 former Canilx clients and getting some money for doing so, to rehire some of the staff and teachers, to get SH gov't tax breaks and other incentives, but not take on any debt.

Another source tells me Web is indeed in serious negotiations.

Nothing is confirmed at this point, but I thought ESLers should know. It's been hard getting this info; can anyone else weigh in with some scuttlebut?

If any of this comes to fruition it would be good for WEB and the students, some teachers, and to the industry overall in the sense of mitigating yet another black eye.

So there you have it for now.

[Babala]

I heard the same information. It is looking like Web will take the Canilx students over to their schools. As far as I have heard, they don't intend to take over any of the schools, just the students and maybe some staff.

[edwinagirl]

I think this is pure rumor at this point. I think there's no way they could cut a deal like this with the tax bureau. I don't think Web are not that financially strong anyway. It's all very dodgy if you ask me.

I did find out, however, that Canilx have huge debts. This is going tocome out. We're talking millions. Their name has been more or less obliterated as a brand and any association with them would be deadly.

I also heard that sales are down in Web and Wall Street. People are resisting the payment in advance. I also got the news that another similar outfit, called Round Table (???) are in trouble.

The fun is just starting. I stand ny my predictions.

[Babala]

I keep hearing people talking about the payment in advance issue. Doesn't every Chinese school require an up-front payment? When I went to university in Canada, I had to pay in advance. Let's not mislead people in to believing that students must sign on for periods of 1 or 2 years. A student may sign on for a short of a period as one month.

edwinagirl, just a question. Does your information strictly come from Shanghai? I know of a few centers in Shanghai that have experienced a drop in sales, but not the ones outside Shanghai.

[edwinagirl]

Babala,

To answer your question, yes, all schools require payment in advance. You cannot enter most classrooms without paying. However, I'm referring here to payment of one year, or sometimes more, in advance. This is an entirely different matter with a university, which is guaranteed by the state. With the self access schools, were talking private institutions - and franchised private institutions at that. I would argue that there is no need for the student to have to take that gamble. They should be able to pay on a 2 month basis, or thereabouts.

It is precisely this method of payment which makes the self access and rapid expansion feasible. It is the one year, up-front cash that defines the model, and not the efficacy of the method. But it also makes it vulnerable to abuse by the franchisees. Shane Lipscomb (the guy from Shane) pointed this out a few years ago and predicted that it would be the downfall of the approach.

From what I know, the schools outside of Shanghai have not yet been affected in terms of sales, but they most certainly will, now that the Canilx brand has been destroyed.

The Education Commission in Shanghai are furious. This is the last thing a non-elected government wants - thousands of people complaining. It was the SEC who gave Canilx the license. Now they are getting some serious grief for that from the central givernment in Beijing. This will spread to the other cities where Canilx (and, I think, Web) have their branches. In the long run, this will affect everyone in the TEFL business to soem extent.