TAL to Terminate Training for Compulsory Education by End of Year
On November 13, Chinese extracurricular education company Tomorrow Advancing Life (TAL) Education Group issued a statement that it will be terminating its off-campus training for compulsory education in mainland China by the end of December 31, 2021. Before the deadline, TAL will offer all related courses that consumers have already paid for with usual quality guaranteed.
Xueersi Online, a digital platform owned by TAL, also announced it will cancel the off-campus training for subject-based areas of compulsory education.
In the announcement, TAL promised to strictly implement the requirements of China’s so-called “Double Reduction” education policy and comply with laws and regulations. The group will give full play to its advantages in teaching and research experiences, actively expand training for science and technology and quality education, and remain hardworking in helping children find their own interests and specialties.
Xueersi, the predecessor of TAL, was founded in 2003. In 2010, TAL was listed and traded on the New York Stock Exchange. Its business covers quality education, K12 extracurricular education, college education, maternal and child services, service for overseas study and others. After the introduction of the Double Reduction policy, TAL has been expanding to adult education, quality education and other fields.
The Double Reduction policy requires existing K12 training institutions to uniformly register as non-profit institutions. K12 discipline institutions are not allowed to go public for financing, and are strictly prohibited from capitalization. Any institution violating relevant regulations and rules will be eliminated and rectified.
Earlier, many education companies have divested discipline training business. Another Chinese extracurricular tutoring giant, New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc., also announced today that it will stop K-9 curriculum tutoring services in all learning centers in China by the end of 2021. It plans to shift its focus and resources to education products and services unrelated to K-9 discipline training services, such as exam preparation courses, adult language training courses and teaching materials.
NetEase’s Youdao is a U.S.-listed company which has chosen to sell its K9 discipline training business. The release of this business is expected to be completed by the end of the year, but it still depends on the final agreement and the approval of the regulatory authorities.
