Private education is booming 私立教育行业欣欣向荣 4月9日,威斯敏斯特公学海外发展的第一所学校——成都威斯敏斯特学校举行了奠基典礼。在过去的15年中,私立教育行业发展如火如荼,全球私立学校的招生人数不断增长。繁荣市场的背后,是什么吸引着威斯敏斯特、哈罗、威灵顿等英国名校纷纷入驻中国? 1 A ground-breaking ceremony on April 9th marked the start of the construction of Westminster Chengdu. 2 It will be followed by a further five establishments of a similar size in other Chinese cities over the next ten years, by the end of which Westminster will be educating 20 times as many children in China as in the heart of London. 3 Enrolment in private schools has risen globally over the past 15 years. 4 The increases are happening not so much in the rich world as in low-and middle-income countries: people are pouring money into schooling, tuition and higher education. 5 Several factors are driving the increase. 6 First, incomes are rising, especially among the better-off. 7 In China the one-child policy has meant that in many families six people (four grandparents and two parents) are prepared to invest in the education of a single child. 8 Second, thanks to the relative decline and increasing capital intensity of manufacturing, job opportunities for the less well-educated are shrinking. 9 Third, technology is creating a demand for new skills which the private sector seems better at providing. 10 All of this makes education attractive to investors: demand is growing faster than incomes and holds up well in economic downturns.