China iEducation Group, 40 per cent owned by investment group China Private Equity Investments, has signed a key strategic co-operation agreement with the State-run Hunan Centre of Educational Technology (HCET) in China’s Hunan Province.
The deal brings annual licence fees and a brand-building relationship. It also means China iEducation has become one of the largest suppliers of online educational content and software for HCET’s RMB10 billion (about GBP1 billion) Modern Distance Education Project for Rural Elementary and Secondary Schools.
More than 26,000 primary and middle schools, often in remote rural areas, will gain access to the China iEducation educational networking website www.chinaschool.net. The site delivers a wide range of educational resources and communication services for primary and middle school teachers to help address educational shortcomings outside urban areas.
The schools are participants in the Hunan Education Project, set up in 2003 and run by HCET. The project aims to exploit available IT advances to maximise the educational opportunities for the Province’s schoolchildren. It has already seen the introduction of satellite communication links and computer rooms in schools.
China Private Equity CEO John Croft, says: “This important agreement is significant not only because it will generate new revenues for China iEducation but also because HCET has undertaken to support the introduction of its products into the Hunan Education Project. As such, it is an important step towards further establishing the brand in a wider, booming education marketplace, where China iEducation is already reaching three million teachers and thirty million children”.
China Private Equity seeks to invest in opportunities like China iEducation that provide exposure to Chinese growth in the TMT, financial services and educational sectors, aiming to take advantage of the rapid development currently underway.
