Web International English

The company's trajectory took a sharp downturn starting in 2018, facing declining performance and rising operational costs. Despite efforts to salvage the business through strategic changes and additional borrowing, the financial situation became untenable. In October 2019, the company ceased operations and effectively went bankrupt, leading to the closure of all its learning centers. The sudden shutdown left both students, who had pre-paid for courses, and employees, who were owed back pay, in a difficult position. In an open letter, founder Gao Weiyu acknowledged the company's financial failure, citing a broken capital chain. Following the closure, arrangements were made with competitor Education First to accommodate some of the displaced students.

The collapse of Web International English was a high-profile event in China's private education industry, highlighting the risks associated with business models heavily dependent on pre-paid tuition and consumer loans. The event drew scrutiny to the broader English language training market in the country. Keywords: Web International English, WEBi, Gao Weiyu, English language training China, ESL China, education bankruptcy, Shanghai education, private education China, language centers, Web Education, student loans education, China ESL market, Education First, language school closure, adult English education, teen English courses, China education industry, pre-paid tuition model, consumer credit education, Wéibó Yīngyǔ