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Kindergartens can be set up by the Ministry of Education, private enterprises, universities, communities and individuals. While local governments establish the minimum and maximum fees allowed to be charged by public kindergartens, private schools are allowed to dictate “reasonable” tuition levels. Tuition =a | | | | International | Overview of the Major Themes in Education Market in China Only accept non-PRC citizens Very high tuition (>US$10,000 per year) Free to use any curriculum Usually affiliated with overseas schools Examples: Shanghai American School, Yew Chung Shanghai International School, British International School Public schools with premium facilites and teaching resources Very difficult to enter (usually requires "guanxi"} * Tuition itself not necessarily high, but “sponsorship fee" can be | substantial Examples: Song Qing Lin Kindergarten, Dong Fang Kindergarten “Elite” Public | + Increasing in numbers over the past few years Mostly run by locals, but foreign participation is on the rise Quality and tuition vary considerably Examples: Elizabeth Kindergarten (local), Victoria Wah Kwong Kindergarten (Hong Kong), Kid's Castle (Taiwan) Private Essentially a public service provided by the government Typically low tuition (<US$500/yr), requiring substantial government subsidies Basic facilities and teaching resources Some are closing down or switching into private hands as government wants to reduce expenditure ‘Regular’ Public [ | No. of | Schools Source: Enspiren. 8.5.2 Saudi Arabia: Market Overview Saudi Arabia's nationwide public educational system comprises eight universities and more than 24,000 schools. Open to every citizen, the system provides students with free education, books and health services. The government allocates over 25% of the annual State budget to education. According to the Ministry of Education, Saudi Arabia prizes education because of its critical importance in developing the country's human potential. Education is a central aspect of family and community life. Parents are deeply involved in their children's education, and the close links between home and school serve to reinforce the structure of the community and the nation. The government plans to increase the enrollment of 4 to 6-year-olds to 40% by 2014. Additionally, by royal decree, education is now required for all 4-year-olds. New labor laws also necessitate that companies employing 50 or more women provide daycare centers. Despite this new series of laws, there still only exist 1,200 kindergarten schools in Saudi Arabia (42% private and 58% public) to support the legislative pronouncements. The Company anticipates that, additional capacity will be needed to meet these social objectives. These trends, as noted by the Ministry of Education in Saudi Arabia have led to private education facilities opening all over the Kingdom. 8.5.3. United Kingdom: Market Overview The United Kingdom stands out with consistent rises in its investment in education, not just in absolute terms, but also relative to national income: Spending on educational institutions increased from 4.3% of GDP in 1990 to 5.5% in 1995 and 5.9% in 2002. From 1995 to 2002, spending and enrollment in primary and secondary education has also increased by 36% and 21%, respectively.”? Additionally, the country invests almost twice as much as any other country at the pre-primary level. The rate of participation of 4- * Source: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Ministry of Education Deputy Ministry for Planning and Administrative Development General Directorate for Planning. “The Ministry of Education Ten-Year Plan” 2005. * Source: OECD, “Education at a Glance 2005.” FA HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_024504