Central China School and Gansu College under China New Higher Education Group completed the conversion

Central China School and Gansu College under China New Higher Education Group completed the conversion

Gansu College obtained approval for the change of the sponsor at the same time

 (31 March 2020 - Hong Kong) China New Higher Education Group Limited (“New Higher Education Group”, together with its subsidiaries collectively referred to as the “Group”, stock code: 2001.HK) announced that Central China School and Gansu College under the Group have obtained approval from the Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China (the “MOE”) from independent colleges into full private universities. Upon the completion of the conversion, Central China School will be renamed as Hubei Enshi College, while Gansu College will be renamed as Lanzhou College of Information Science and Technology. The two schools will receive more policy supports from the government, and further expand the autonomy in school operation with a clearer positioning. At the same time, Gansu College has also obtained approval for the change of the sponsor.

Central China School

Central China School has a strong focus on medical science, and its School of Medicine has distinctive advantages and features, including clinical medicine, clinical Chinese and Western medicine, and nursing, etc. The school has established a complete higher medical education system with clinical medicine as its main discipline and an open three-dimensional school operation mode.

After the completion of the conversion, Central China School will be renamed as Hubei Enshi College, which will enrich the major settings of the universities and colleges under the Group through its advantageous major mix, bringing more synergy to the Group’s development.

Gansu College

Since joining the Group, through integrated strengths, sharing of resources and synergized development, Gansu College has become the key university supported by and developed in the “13th five-year plan” of Gansu Province, and has also been recognized as Advanced Unit of Employment in Ordinary Colleges and Universities in Gansu Province.

After the completion of the conversion, Gansu College will be renamed as Lanzhou College of Information Science and Technology, which will further expand its autonomy in school operation, optimize its cost structure and continue to improve its operational efficiency and profitability.

In addition, Gansu College has also obtained the approval for the change of the sponsor. After the completion of the change, Gansu College’s results of operations will be consolidated into the Group, which will increase the revenue and profit of the Group.

With still large demand of higher education, Gansu Province has a gross enrolment rate of 37% for higher education, which is far below the national average of 51.6%. Gansu College shares a considerable growth potential in the number of students enrolment in future, which can contribute more economic growth points to the Group.

Benefits of Conversion of Two Schools:

1. More policy supports: according to the Implementation Plan for Accelerating the Conversion of Independent Colleges（《關于加快推進獨立學院轉設工作的實施方案》）issued by the MOE, the MOE will “provide further supports to the converted schools in terms of enrolment plans, project application and discipline settings, etc.; and encourage the local government where the school is situated to provide policy support in terms of per-student allocation, financial rewards and subsidies, discount loan, talents recruitment, procurement services, land supply, tax exemption and reduction, financial support, etc.”.

2. Further expand the autonomy in school operation: Autonomy in school operation in two schools will be further expanded after the conversion. the Group will optimize the pricing strategy through high quality school operation to continuously improve the operational efficiency;

3. Clearer positioning in school operation: after the completion of the conversion, two schools will be more clearly positioned in school operation to provide high-quality employment for students, vigorously develop the talent cultivation model of industry-education integration and collaborative education, promote high-quality employment for students, better adapt to the development of new industries and new jobs, and thereby support the Group's development strategy of “great quality, great price”.

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About China New Higher Education Group Limited:

China New Higher Education Group Limited is a leading private higher education group in China with nearly 21 years of education industry experience, specializing in providing higher education which focuses on applied sciences. The Group endeavors to help each student maximize their potential and live their life to the fullest. Since 2009, the Group has been operating schools in different provinces and regions, and its current school network covers 7 provinces in China, including Yunnan, Heilongjiang, Hubei, Gansu, Guizhou, Henan and Guangxi.

The Group provides high quality higher education in a wide selection of fields in applied sciences. Its courses are designed to equip students with practical and readily applicable skills, helping to prepare them for the job market. As a leader in high-quality employment, the Group won the title of the Top 50 National Employment of the MOE, with an average employment rate of above 97%. The Group became a constituent stock of the Hang Seng Composite Small Cap Index and the Hang Seng Consumer Goods & Services Index in the Hang Seng Composite Index Series in August 2017, and was included as a constituent stock of the MSCI China Small Cap Index in November 2017 and included as a constituent stock of Shenzhen and Hong Kong Stock Connect in March 2018.