The financial situation of the six biggest "international schools" in Suzhou is almost terminal in some cases.

On or about May 15, 2009, one of the largest "international schools" in Suzhou was placed in Chinese-government ordered "receivership" after the Taiwanese owners departed to that island with nearly all of the cash-on-hand. The school had been operational for ten years or longer. The parents of the students had each paid RMB 50,000 for the privilege of sending their children to this school and now have nothing to show for it. When and if the school "re-opens" in September, it will "re-open" as a local Suzhou district school without the requisite authorization to admit foreign students (including those from Taiwan, Macau, Hong Kong, etc.). It was a very nasty receivership and hundreds of students were just scattered to the wind.

Following this receivership, another very large bilingual kindergarten in Suzhou, with nearly 500 students, whose parents each paid RMB 20,000 per year for the privilege of sending their children to this bilingual kindgarten, was simply shut-and-fettered after -- guest what -- in a redux of the previous school -- the Taiwanese owners of the kindgarten, which had a park-like setting and truly beautiful buildings, also went to Taipei on a one-way trip with current financial reserves of the school. Again, all of these parents simply lots their year's tuition and the children lost all of that schooling.

That brings us to the issue of yet another larger "international school" that is in urgent talks with its bankers and creditors to "alleviate" cash flow problems. So far the talks are proceeding.

Rumor? No, all of this was reported in Shanghai publications, some e-pubs, others not.

Thus, out of the six major players in Suzhou, one is in receivership, another has been fettered, a third is in serious talks for its financial life.

That leaves the Japanese School of Suzhou which is directly financed by the Japanese Ministry of Education and the Japanese Government and the Singapore International School which benefits from hefty fees paid by the employers of those parents who enrol their children in that school.

All-in-all, if I were working in an "international school" in Suzhou at the moment, given the amplitutde and severity of the economic crisis that is decidedly being felt in this city, I would probably be highly concerned as to the financial viability of my institution, particularly given the fact that there had been persisitent rumors about the two now-bankrupt schools and that the owners had repeatedly derided these assertions. Additionally, in terms of the third school, it may just be a potential redux of the previous two, as it is also foreign-owned (translate that as Taiwan and Hong Kong) by a single shareholder.