Prospects for Western schools in China, Vietnam and South-East Asia

China, Vietnam and South-East Asia is the world’s largest growth market for private school education. Many private schools have already been founded on a commercial basis by local investors. They are frequently differentiated in the market from government schools by offering their students a Western pedagogy and pathway to overseas study. Western curricula and examinations are available for use and an experienced expatriate and bilingual teaching force is being developed.

Traditionally, such international schools were established for expatriate families. As their market was small, these schools were rarely found outside major cities. Today, a new model for international schools has been established. Contemporary international schools have been established in recent years by domestic sponsors for local students seeking alternatives to the state schooling system. Though many of these new international schools are still relatively domestic in character, there is a growing demand for Western curricula and pedagogies in the system, and for effective pathways to overseas universities. As a result, there is a call for Western schools to enter the market to assure quality in the operations of these schools.

Local investors are therefore seeking high-quality partners to support the development of international schools and programs. As a result, opportunities exist for Western schools to engage in Asia through ventures such as,

• the delivery of programs into an existing school or institution,
• the licensing of their brand and intellectual property to local school operators as franchise operations with or without management responsibilities,
• the establishment and operation of campuses or stand-alone schools, usually as joint-venture operations.

Arcadia supports western schools that are developing an international education strategy to establish a portfolio of revenue-generating projects in China, Vietnam and other South-East Asian markets.