School's out - students and teachers left out in the cold

By Liang Yiwen and Yang Jian  |   2008-6-17  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

POLICE are investigating an English school which suspended all its classes after recruiting more than 400 students.

At least 15 employees with the Miracle English Garden also filed a labor arbitration application for unpaid wages at the labor authority in downtown Xuhui District.

"We have had complaints from parents over the past two days and our financial detectives are investigating," said Shen Qian, an officer with Changning District police. "However the case seems to be complicated and it might take some time to reach a result."

The case came to light when parents sent their children to classes at the school's two centers last weekend. Parents were stunned when no teachers turned up and discovered that all classes were suspended at its branches in Xuhui, Changning and Pudong.

The school posted notices on its classrooms saying that classes would be suspended for one month because "the classrooms needed decoration and teachers were being trained."

School employees at the Xuhui District headquarters said they did not know what had happened and the school owed them several months in unpaid wages. Parents could not reach the person believed to be in charge, Wen Juntai.

Wen is reportedly being investigated by police.

More than 50 parents have called police since the weekend - but this is not the first time classes have been unexpectedly suspended. Staff of the school also applied for labor arbitration yesterday asking for back pay.

The school, which opened last year, principally gave English lessons to children ranging from one to 12 years old. It had recruited more than 400 students who each paid about 10,000 yuan (US$1,428.57) in fees. It charged a fee of 6,980 yuan for a half-year term or 11,800 yuan for a two-year term.

One month ago, the school issued notices saying it was forced to close temporarily because of a hand-foot-mouth disease outbreak. But this weekend the school had still been recruiting students three days ago, one of the parents surnamed Zhu said.

As early as March, the school, formerly known as the Disney Miracle English Garden, was reported not to have permission to use the name of the United States-based company Disney.

The Xuhui District Consumers' Rights Protection Commission said it had received 12 complaints about the school between March and April. Parents said they asked for refunds because the quality of classes was far below what the school had promised.

School employees said their income had been "greatly affected" after the media reports. The school was unable to enrol enough students and many of those who had been recruited were coming to ask to quit - all of which caused a cash shortfall for the school management.

The school's phone was disconnected after it failed to pay its phone bills.