Recently, with the introduction and implementation of the General Office of the State Council's "Opinions on Further Reducing the Burden of Students' Homework and Off campus Training in Compulsory Education" (hereinafter referred to as the "Double Reduction" Opinions), the special governance of off campus training institutions has kicked off. In just over a month, off-school training institutions have been in chaos, with frequent incidents of "explosions" and "runaways". Consumer disputes involving education and training have also become a hot and painful issue for parents, leaving them confused. How can they fulfill the training contracts they have signed up for? How can training institutions protect their rights without refunding fees? What issues should I pay attention to if I continue to participate in the training?

 

This article will conduct a preliminary analysis of the above issues from a legal perspective. Parents can take legal weapons to safeguard their legitimate rights and interests.

 

1、 Under the "double reduction" policy, how can training contracts that have already been signed up be fulfilled? Can it be changed or cancelled?

 

The "double reduction" opinion requires that off-school training institutions should not occupy national statutory holidays, rest days, and winter and summer holidays to organize disciplinary training; It is strictly prohibited to employ foreign personnel abroad to carry out training activities; It is not allowed to conduct online training for preschool children, and it is strictly prohibited to conduct offline disciplinary training for preschool children in the name of preschool classes, kindergarten transition classes, thinking training classes, etc.

 

Therefore, under the adjustment of this double reduction policy, on the one hand, if we continue to perform as agreed in the original contract, it will violate national policies and regulations; On the other hand, if you adjust the class time, class teachers, and class format, it may be significantly unfair to consumers. In particular, disciplinary education and training for preschool children can no longer be conducted, which has seriously affected the legitimate rights and interests of consumers.

 

According to Article 533 of the Civil Code: "After the establishment of the contract, there have been significant changes in the basic conditions of the contract that could not be foreseen by the parties at the time of concluding the contract and that are not commercial risks. If the continued performance of the contract is obviously unfair to one party, the adversely affected party may renegotiate with the other party. If the negotiation fails within a reasonable period of time, the parties may request the people's court or an arbitration institution to modify or terminate the contract.", This adjustment of the dual reduction policy is a situation where the circumstances specified in this article of the Civil Code have actually changed. Parents who have already registered for training can negotiate with the training institution to change the performance method and redefine the contract content; If the family leader does not want to change the performance method, the contract can also be terminated through negotiation. "If consultation fails, a people's court or arbitration institution may be requested to modify or terminate the contract.".

 

In practice, different training institutions have taken different measures to respond to the change or termination of training contracts.

 

Some training institutions have strong strengths and are very active, such as "Mousi". After the implementation of the dual reduction policy, they immediately contact their parents through their teaching teachers and learning consultants to advance the summer school hours. In the autumn, all courses are changed to Monday to Friday, and most face-to-face courses are changed to online courses. This initiative has received the understanding of some parents and accepted the changed training course on the premise that "the teaching teachers remain unchanged, the teaching content remains unchanged, and the classmates remain unchanged.". Some parents do not accept the changed training course and directly apply for a refund on the "Mousi" app. Generally, the refund can be received within 3-5 working days.

 

2. Some institutions are weak and unable to successfully overcome the crisis, but their legitimate operations also have a sense of social responsibility. For example, "Mourui" issued a statement at the end of August 2021 to stop the autumn classes in Beijing and fully refund students' unused tuition fees, which ended with sadness. Most parents are lucky to get their refund back.

 

However, there are still some institutions that are not well managed, unable to continue their operations, and unable to meet the parents' request for a refund. For example, "someone" publicly stated at the end of August 2021 that they could not meet the parents' request for a refund. They have obtained assistance from the China Private Education Association and other training institutions to transfer some of their courses to other training institutions. Some parents said that the quality of follow-up training could not be guaranteed, and they did not agree to accept the transfer arrangement, insisting on a refund. Some parents also admitted that they were unlucky and had no choice but to accept the transfer arrangement.

 

4. There are also some bad training institutions that directly "run away". When parents find the classroom and find that the training institution is in arrears with the rent, and when they find the teacher and find that the training institution is in arrears with the employee's salary, parents can only huddle together to keep warm and defend their rights through various means, feeling exhausted.

 

2、 How can training institutions protect their rights if they run away and do not refund fees?

 

As mentioned above, many parents encounter situations where training institutions fail to honor their promises, refuse to refund fees, or even run away, seriously infringing upon the legitimate rights and interests of consumers. How should parents protect their rights at this time?

 

First of all, parents should promptly follow the "double reduction" policy to check whether the reported training courses comply with the latest policy requirements, promptly contact the training institution to determine whether to change the contract performance method or refund fees, and try not to do nothing or blindly trust the training institution. Only after the training institution fails to operate, such as "thunderbolt" or "runaway", can they wake up from their dreams. At the same time, we should enhance our awareness of safeguarding rights and promptly retain evidence, such as documentary evidence such as contracts and invoices, electronic data such as screenshots of websites and APP screenshots, telephone recordings, and on-site negotiation recordings.

 

Secondly, if a training institution is found to have committed violations or illegal acts such as not fulfilling its promises, refusing to refund fees, or suspected of running away, it can be accessed through the "National Management Service Platform for Offcampus Training Institutions for Primary and Secondary School Students"（ http://xwpx.moe.edu.cn/ ）”Conduct complaint reporting. It can also be directly reported to relevant administrative departments such as the education department (education commission), market supervision department (industry and commerce bureau), etc. From September 3, 2021, the Ministry of Education has launched a 24-hour unified supervision and reporting hotline of 010-66092315 and 66093315, as well as a unified supervision and reporting email of 12391 moe.edu.cn.

 

Once again, if a dispute arises and the training institution evades, it can also request local consumer organizations (consumer associations) to mediate and promptly safeguard its legitimate rights and interests. Recently, the China Association of Private Education announced the establishment of the Pre litigation Mediation Center for Off campus Training Disputes, where parents can also choose to apply for dispute mediation.

 

Finally, if none of the above approaches can solve the problem, parents can also file a lawsuit with a people's court or apply to an arbitration institution for arbitration according to the provisions of the training contract. According to Article 563 of the Civil Code, "Before the expiration of the performance period, if either party explicitly indicates or indicates by its own behavior that it will not perform its main contractual obligations," the party may terminate the contract. If the training institution is shut down or running away, resulting in the failure to achieve the purpose of the training contract, and its behavior has constituted a fundamental breach of contract, parents can request the court or arbitration institution to terminate the contract. "If the situation does not fall within the scope of closing down or running away, parents can also request the people's court or arbitration institution to modify or terminate the contract based on the change of circumstances, in accordance with Article 533 of the Civil Code mentioned above.". After the termination of the contract, if the performance has not yet been performed, parents have the right to request the training institution to return the corresponding training fees for the uncompleted courses.

 

3、 What issues should I pay attention to if I continue to participate in the training?

 

//Choose a training institution with high reputation and strong strength

 

It is recommended that parents in the future, before choosing to enroll their children in training courses, should thoroughly understand the operating qualifications, school license, teacher resources, relevant supporting facilities, after-sales services, and other information of training institutions in multiple ways to prevent risks. Parents can query relevant information about training institutions on the "National Management Service Platform for Offcampus Training Institutions for Primary and Secondary School Students" and the "Safety Management Platform for Offcampus Training Institutions" in various provinces and cities, and try to choose training institutions with high brand reputation and strong strength.

 

//2. Study in detail the types of training subjects to be participated in, the difficulty of training, and the teachers

 

The "Notice on Further Clarifying the Scope of Disciplinary and Non Disciplinary Types of Off campus Training in the Compulsory Education Stage" issued by the General Office of the Ministry of Education on July 29, 2021 states that when conducting off campus training, ethics and the rule of law, Chinese, history, geography, mathematics, foreign languages (English, Japanese, Russian), physics, chemistry, and biology are managed according to the discipline categories; The disciplines of physical education (or sports and health), art (or music, fine arts), and comprehensive practical activities (including information technology education, labor, and technical education) are managed as non disciplinary categories. Moreover, the "double reduction" opinion clearly requires that all localities will no longer approve new disciplinary off campus training institutions for students at the compulsory education stage; It is strictly prohibited to conduct advanced training beyond the standard, engage in disciplinary training by non disciplinary training institutions, and provide overseas education courses.

 

Therefore, when selecting a training institution, parents also need to clarify the types of education and training required, carefully check the training category and scope of the training institution, and pay attention to the approval and establishment time of the training institution. If conditions permit, parents can compare the student's school teaching plan with the training plan of the training institution to identify whether it exceeds the standard and is ahead of schedule. Finally, it is necessary to understand the situation of teachers and determine whether the teachers providing training services have teacher qualifications, and whether they have corresponding teaching qualifications and experience.

 

//3. Check whether the charging time and standard of the training institution fees are compliant

 

In accordance with the spirit of the "double reduction" opinion, each off-school training institution shall not charge any more fees for compulsory education stage students to participate in national statutory holidays, rest days, and winter and summer holidays in the future. In addition, in accordance with the relevant spirit of the "Opinions on Regulating the Development of Offcampus Training Institutions" issued by the General Office of the State Council on August 6, 2018, the charging period of training institutions and teaching arrangements should be coordinated and consistent, and one-time fees with a time span of more than 3 months should not be charged. Therefore, before signing an education and training contract, parents should clearly understand in advance whether the charging method and usage period of the training institution fees comply with the policy provisions.

 

The "double reduction" opinion also points out the need to strengthen the supervision of training fees. Adhere to the public welfare attribute of off-school training, scientifically and reasonably determine pricing methods, clarify charging standards, and resolutely curb excessive fees and excessive profit-seeking behavior. On September 2, 2021, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Education, and the General Administration of Market Supervision jointly issued the "Notice on Strengthening the Supervision of Offcampus Training Fees for Disciplines in the Compulsory Education Stage", which clarified that online and offline off-school training fees for disciplines in the compulsory education stage belong to non-profit institutions, and government guided pricing management is implemented in accordance with the law. The government sets benchmark fee standards and floating ranges, and is included in local pricing catalogs according to procedures. By the end of 2021, all localities will introduce government guided pricing management policies for out of school training fees for disciplines in the compulsory education stage, clarifying the benchmark fee standard, the floating range, and the specific implementation time.

 

Parents should enhance their risk awareness when registering for training courses, and pay attention to checking whether the charging time and standards of training institutions are in compliance with the above regulations, to avoid falling into situations such as "routine loans" and the advance payment being rolled up and lost.

 

//4. Be alert to the format clauses and "overlord clauses" of the training agreement

 

Generally, the training contracts provided by training institutions are stereotyped contracts, and parents rarely carefully read the specific content of the contract. After the dispute, parents discovered that there were many unreasonable "overlord clauses" in the contract, such as "no refund once payment is made", "no refund after how long it takes", "a certain percentage of the handling fee is charged for the refund", and "training institutions can adjust the training teachers and training courses according to actual needs". Therefore, when signing a contract with a training institution, parents should carefully read and review the important terms of the contract, such as the content of the training course, the qualifications of the training teacher, training fees, training time, termination of the contract, refund, and liability for breach of contract.

 

According to Article 496 of the Civil Code: "If a contract is concluded using standard terms, the party providing the standard terms should follow the principle of fairness in determining the rights and obligations between the parties, and take reasonable measures to remind the other party of clauses that have a significant interest in the other party, such as exempting or mitigating its responsibilities, and explain such clauses in accordance with the requirements of the other party. The party providing the standard terms failed to perform the obligation of reminding or explaining, resulting in the other party not paying attention or understanding to the contract." "If it has a significant interest in a clause, the other party can claim that the clause does not become the content of the contract." The training institution should also fulfill the obligations of fair setting of rights and reasonable and significant prompts. Otherwise, parents can claim that the relevant clause does not become the content of the contract and does not have legal binding force. ".

 

Conclusion

 

Having said so much, some people have asked, "The state has taken such strict control measures on extracurricular training this time, but the high school entrance examination and the college entrance examination are real. Is this unfair to some school teachers and children who want to make up for their differences through extracurricular training?"? Don't worry, the Ministry of Education has integrated high-quality teaching resources from the country, relevant provinces and cities, and schools, and has launched the "National Primary and Secondary School Network Cloud Platform: ykt. eduyun. cn". The platform has videos of major subject courses from primary to ordinary high schools, and students and parents can choose to learn for free on this platform. In addition, there is a "national public service platform for educational resources: www.eduyun. cn", which focuses on the promotion of educational resources and intelligent navigation of educational resource information. There are also many curriculum videos from primary schools to ordinary high schools in different disciplines and different versions (such as People's Education Edition, Jiangsu Education Edition, Hebei Education Edition, Shanghai Education Edition, Beijing Normal University Edition, etc.), which are very complete and high-quality.

 

(This article is translated by software translator for reference only.)