Beijing, PRC, May 17, 2010 – China Distance Education Holdings Limited (NYSE: DL) (“CDEL” or the “Company”), a leading provider of online education in China focusing on professional education, today announced that it has been designated the official provider of self-taught higher education study process monitoring in Zhejiang Province, and has begun to roll out the program with the Zhejiang Provincial Education Examination Authority (“Zhejiang EEA”). In addition, the Company has obtained approval to offer its study process monitoring program in Hainan Province, and has signed a multi-year exclusive contract with the Examinations Bureau of Hainan Province (“Hainan EB”), the designated administrator of self-taught higher education in Hainan Province, to offer the program.
The self-taught higher education program is a self-study program designed to allow learners in China to obtain post-secondary education without having to pass the Uniform Entrance Exams (“Gaokao”) or attend a traditional college or university. Degrees are granted by the Ministry of Education (“MOE”) to self-taught learners who have passed all exams relating to the diploma or degree courses and who satisfy certain other requirements. Traditionally, 100% of the credits needed to pass self taught programs are earned through final exam scores administered by the MOE. Through CDEL’s study process monitoring program, learners can earn up to 30% of their credits from attendance, assignments and quizzes. The program is designed to foster meaningful learning habits and strengthen the overall educational process.
Mr. Zhengdong Zhu, Chairman and CEO of CDEL commented, “I am delighted to announce our new partnerships with the Zhejiang EEA and Hainan EB to provide self-taught higher education study process monitoring programs following the addition of similar programs in Tianjin, Beijing, Jiangsu and Yunnan. Together, Zhejiang and Hainan provide CDEL with access to an additional 700,000 self-taught higher education examination takers, representing a significant market opportunity for CDEL.
“We believe these contracts demonstrate the positive momentum building behind our self-taught higher education program and reflect the high standards of our services. Given the enormous market opportunity in self-taught study process monitoring and the strong reputation we have built in the field, we are confident in the long-term potential of this segment and look forward to further expanding our high quality program across China.”
