On November 15, 2018, Xinhua News Agency published “the opinions of the CPC central committee and the state council on further reforming the orderly development of kindergarten education (‘Opinion’)”. RYB Education strongly supports all government mandates and initatives in making quality kindergarten education available and affordable to all children and welcomes this further guidance from the State Council.
While RYB Education is studying and assessing the potential impact of the Opinion on its operation, it firmly believes in providing high quality early childhood education in China. RYB Education supports the Opinion’s objective of providing a healthier and more transparent operating environment for kindergartens and its operators in China, as well as making quality kindergarten education more accessible.
This announcement contains forward-looking statements. These statements are made under the "safe harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "will," "expects," "anticipates," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates," "confident" and similar statements. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about the Company's beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement, including but not limited to the following: the Company's brand recognition and market reputation; student enrollment in the Company's teaching facilities; the Company's growth strategies; its future business development, results of operations and financial condition; trends and competition in China's early childhood education market; changes in its revenues and certain cost or expense items; the expected growth of the Chinese early education market; Chinese governmental policies relating to the Company's industry and general economic conditions in China. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in the Company's filings with the SEC. All information provided in this statement and in the attachments is as of the date of this statement, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement, except as required under applicable law.
We write to update the RYB community on an alleged incident of inappropriate behavior on January 25th by a foreign teacher at a RYB kindergarten in Qingdao. After first learning about the incident from the student's parents on January 28th, we immediately reviewed surveillance videos with the parents of the student and verified certain facts with the involved foreign teacher. On the same night, together with the parents, we reported the incident to the police. On January 29th, we cooperated with the police in the arrest of the teacher. The child involved in the incident underwent a thorough physical examination, which did not reveal any signs of physical injuries, and the child has since returned to school. The local education bureaus in Qingdao have paid careful attention to this case, issued a notice of remediation orders to us, and, with respect to kindergartens within their jurisdiction, initiated special supervision measures. Since then, the involved kindergarten has followed law enforcement instructions and has proactively cooperated with the police's investigation. The case is now under criminal prosecution.
We have a zero-tolerance policy towards any and all misconduct harmful to the children in our schools, centers and programs. Further, the company has a strict policy that prohibits foreign teachers from interacting with children alone and from participating in childcare-related work. RYB also requires two teachers to be on duty at the same time in every classroom. Regarding the above incident, we immediately dismissed the incumbent headmaster and teacher-on-duty at that time because of the breach of our standards. RYB also demanded all facilities nationwide strengthen their controls. The parents involved in the incident acknowledged our proactive approach in handling the response to the above incident and we are grateful for their support.
Regarding individuals who break the law, our attitude is resolute: Whoever crosses the line into illegal behavior will face severe legal punishment. We will make every effort to enhance our safety management, strengthen on- the-job training, and prevent similar incidents from happening in the future.
This announcement contains forward-looking statements. These statements are made under the "safe harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "will," "expects," "anticipates," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates," "confident" and similar statements. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about the Company's beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement, including but not limited to the following: the Company’s brand recognition and market reputation; student enrollment in the Company’s teaching facilities; the Company's growth strategies; its future business development, results of operations and financial condition; trends and competition in China's early childhood education market; changes in its revenues and certain cost or expense items; the expected growth of the Chinese early education market; Chinese governmental policies relating to the Company's industry and general economic conditions in China. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in the Company's filings with the SEC. All information provided in this statement and in the attachments is as of the date of this statement, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement, except as required under applicable law.