Check on China: ChinaEdu Corporation

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Since philosopher Confucius stressed learning as essential to self-transformation and the improvement of society as a whole, the Chinese have attached great importance to education. In the past three decades, China has come a long way educationally. At the end of the decade of social upheaval known as the Cultural Revolution in 1976, China’s literacy rate stood at only 60%. Today, it's 85%, with the rate for citizens between the ages of 12 and 40 at an impressive 96%.

Last week, Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping's met with Richard C. Levine, president of Yale University. The two officials discussed the possibility of educational exchanges and the need for increased cooperation between the two countries. During the meeting, Xi said the Chinese government will continue to make education a priority.

Beijing-based educational services provider ChinaEdu Corporation (Nasdaq:CEDU) hopes to play a significant role in continuing the trend toward increased education. ChinaEdu's primary business is providing online courses and interactive tutoring services, but it also operates private primary and secondary schools, and markets and supports international curriculum programs in the People's Republic of China. A domestic leader in the distance-learning sector in terms of student enrollment, the company has exclusive, long-term contracts to run online degree programs for 10 Chinese universities (and strong relationships with a total of 12 institutions of higher learning). The online learning segment generates nearly three-quarters of the company's revenues. 

International business experts believe that distance learning will help give Chinese companies and multinationals operating in China access to a much-needed labor pool of highly trained staff with global exposure, while the education czars in the Ministry of Education's Curriculum Development Center view distance learning as a means of reaching areas in China with teacher shortages (particularly in Western . . .

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