Recently, a netizen revealed that on August 31, parents of Ai Meng Ya Forest Children’s Academy in Changsha City, Hunan Province had just paid the tuition fees, but the owner disappeared on September 3.
According to the netizen’s disclosure about the situation involving Tang Ping, the person in charge of Ai Meng Ya Kindergarten, she used the “one-year installment” method to entice parents to pay the fees before the institution closed at the end of August. Tang Ping collected over 600,000 RMB from parents and owed nearly 300,000 RMB in unpaid wages to employees. This behavior indicated a premeditated plan to close the institution in September, showing clear deceptive intent.
Reported by Jiexiang News on September 11, Ai Meng Ya Forest Children’s Academy is located on Lu Yun Road in Yuelu District, Changsha. The sign of “Ai Meng Ya Forest Children’s Academy” is still there, but the place is deserted, with a locked gate.
A parent mentioned that on the morning of September 1, when she dropped off her child at Ai Meng Ya Forest Children’s Academy, everything seemed normal. However, she later received a notice to pick up her child and was informed that the institution was closing down and no longer needed to send her child there. She claimed that around 6,000 RMB in fees has not been refunded to her.
Another parent stated that in November last year, he enrolled his 8-month-old son in this institution and paid a tuition fee of 50,000 RMB with a credit card. Now, with the sudden closure of the institution, around 20,000 RMB worth of services are unfulfilled, and the credit card debt has not been cleared.
Yet another parent mentioned that they had just paid over 20,000 RMB in tuition fees at Ai Meng Ya Forest Children’s Academy at the end of August, only to find the institution closed, leaving them confused.
A mother told Hunan Broadcasting and Television’s Feng Mang News that Tang Ping, the person in charge of Ai Meng Ya Forest Children’s Academy, did not seem financially strapped. “She drives a Land Rover, her daughter attends a prestigious private school with an annual tuition fee of 60,000 RMB. In July, she claimed she couldn’t pay salaries, but she could buy concert tickets for her daughter to see her favorite stars.”
The mother questioned, “You (Tang Ping) just collected tens of thousands of tuition fees a few days ago, why did you close down on September 1?”
According to another parent, they have reported the case to the authorities, and mediation has been attempted in the community, but Tang, the director, claimed she had no money, saying, “Either you kill me or I have no money.”
An employee of Ai Meng Ya Forest Children’s Academy mentioned that the staff also received a sudden notice of closure. To her knowledge, the institution owes parents over 300,000 RMB in refunds and owes employees over 200,000 RMB in wages.
“The salaries were paid partially for some time, but not completely cut off. Currently, the personal salary owed to her is about 50,000 RMB.” The employee stated that she has lodged complaints with multiple departments, investigations and mediations have been conducted, the owner has acknowledged the debt, and she is considering legal action.
Officials from the Yuelu District Education Bureau in Changsha City stated they have received feedback on the matter, but as the institution is a childcare facility, not a kindergarten, it falls under the jurisdiction of the Health Commission. However, calls to the Health Commission of Yuelu District in Changsha City have gone unanswered.