Shanghai company not to organize English test, apologizing for causing trouble

A local company that ran an English test in Shanghai said today that it would not organize the activity any more.

It also apologized for "causing trouble to authorities and parents" in a statement released on Friday night.

The announcement and apology were made by the Shanghai Bailinge (or Bilingual) Business Consulting Co Ltd after the Shanghai Education Commission said last week that the company was in serious violation of local laws and regulations, including operating without license, false advertising and fake invoice.

The company was set up by the “China Elementary and Middle Schools Bilingual Education Association Co Ltd” that was registered in Hong Kong. The two had run the “Elegant English Evaluation (3E)” and promoted themselves as "China Elementary and Middle Schools Bilingual Education Association," which could have misled the public into thinking it was a social organization, according to the commission.

Neither of the companies has the license to provide educational training or organize activities like academic competitions, it added.

The test was so popular that tens of thousands of pupils took it every year, believing it was "a ticket to famous schools" as the companies had said in promotion activities.

It had been suspended by Shanghai authorities last month for disturbing local education order and causing extra burden on young students.

The organizers had announced last week that they would organize the test in April at some place in neighboring Jiangsu Province, which could be reached from Shanghai in one hour by Metro Line 11.

The Shanghai Education Commission said last week in a statement that it would look into the problem in cooperation with its counterparts in Jiangsu.