NEW YORK, Nov. 8, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Students
across China will soon have the
opportunity to participate in premier, after-school programs that
advance their 21st century skills through an agreement announced
today between McGraw-Hill Education and New Oriental Education
& Technology Group, two of the world's leaders in educational
services. Harold McGraw III,
chairman, president and chief executive officer of The McGraw-Hill
Companies (NYSE: MHP), and Michael
Yu, founder, chairman and CEO of New Oriental Education
& Technology Group (NYSE: EDU) announced the agreement between
the organizations to form a joint venture company, which will
operate "MaxEn Centers" for students ranging in age from 4 to 15.
The announcement was made at the closing bell of the New York Stock
Exchange.
The planned formation of the joint venture highlights
McGraw-Hill Education's global expansion in the English-language
skills development and college and career readiness services
market, as well as its highly advanced digital capabilities. For
New Oriental, the venture extends the company's market-leading
position in language and core curriculum skills targeting the
K-College afterschool tutoring market in China. In addition to being an equity owner in
the MaxEn Centers, McGraw-Hill is providing its deep educational
expertise, which includes curriculum development and instructional
design, to co-develop the courses.
"The demand for skills development in China and many other countries around the
world is large and growing. This partnership puts McGraw-Hill
and New Oriental in a position of strength to deliver critical 21st
century skills to students across China," Mr. McGraw said.
New Oriental's Mr. Yu explained, "For many Chinese families,
education and the development of strong English-language skills
provide the pathway to higher-paying jobs, opportunities to work
for multinational firms in China,
and the potential to attend universities overseas. Through our
partnership with McGraw-Hill Education, the MaxEn Centers will
provide much more than English-language skills development. The
centers will provide the skills that enable Chinese students to
thrive globally and strengthen China's educational and workforce development
capabilities."
"Businesses worldwide are rapidly adopting new technologies and
moving at a pace that is bypassing traditional educational
resources," said Robert Bahash,
president of McGraw-Hill Education. "Through our partnership with
New Oriental, we will develop the tools and programs that provide
students with the skills that are vital to their professional and
even personal success. It will help them become life-long learners
in a learning-centric world."
The MaxEn Centers will utilize McGraw-Hill's curriculum,
integrating Western pedagogy and equipping students with the 21st
century skills in creative thinking, collaboration and
teambuilding, which are necessary for success in college and in the
workforce. The MaxEn/McGraw-Hill curriculum will be the ideal
complement to the core skills-based learning currently delivered in
traditional and digitally enabled classrooms throughout
China.
McGraw-Hill Education will work with New Oriental to develop
in-class instruction, online modules and digital learning tools,
and teacher training materials that will enable students to enhance
their English-language skills in a contemporary style and setting.
The courses, which are based on international standards, include
lessons in global citizenship, test preparation and oral
communications.
The market for education services in China, estimated at $286 billion in 2010, is expanding rapidly. In
addition to government spending, private spending on education has
increased dramatically with education now representing the
second-largest urban household spending category in China.
The joint venture currently has five MaxEn Centers in the cities
of Beijing, Tianjin, Chengdu and Fuzhou. In the years to come, the joint
venture plans to open MaxEn Centers providing skills development
programs to students throughout China's largest urban markets.
About New Oriental
New Oriental is the largest provider of private educational
services in China based on the
number of program offerings, total student enrollments and
geographic presence. New Oriental offers a wide range of
educational programs, services and products consisting primarily of
English and other foreign language training, test preparation
courses for major admissions and assessment tests in the United States, the PRC and Commonwealth
countries, primary and secondary school education, development and
distribution of educational content, software and other technology,
and online education. New Oriental trades on the New York Stock
Exchange under the symbol ''EDU.'' For more information about New
Oriental, please visit http://english.neworiental.org.
About McGraw-Hill Education
McGraw-Hill Education is a content, software and services-based
education company that draws on its more than 100 years of
educational expertise to offer solutions, which improve learning
outcomes around the world. McGraw-Hill is the adaptive education
technology leader with the vision for creating a highly
personalized learning experience that prepares students of all ages
for the world that awaits. The company has offices across
North America, India, China,
Europe, the Middle East and South America, and makes its learning
solutions available in more than 65 languages. For additional
information, visit www.mheducation.com.
Contacts:
Mary Skafidas
McGraw-Hill Education
(212) 904-2078
mary_skafidas@mcgraw-hill.com
Victor He
New Oriental Education & Technology Group
(Tel): +86 10 62605566 x 8800
(Fax): +86 10 62605511
heqingrong@xdf.cn
SOURCE McGraw-Hill Education