In recent years, the rise of private education has promoted the diversified development of the education industry. The release of various education policies conveys the country's determination to promote the healthy and orderly development of the education industry. At the same time, cutting-edge technologies such as the Internet, artificial intelligence, and big data are rapidly driving the innovation of the education industry. Ensuring the fairness and quality of education in the environment of technological innovation and helping children to learn easily and efficiently has become a matter of concern for many private education enterprises.

Against this background, on March 6, 2018, TAL Education Group held its annual meeting for 2018. TAL Education Group's founder and CEO, Zhang Bangxin, delivered a speech titled "Responsible for a Good Future," in front of nearly 30,000 employees. Zhang Bangxin stated that TAL Education Group will be committed to using technology to promote the reduction of the educational burden in the new era, and hopes "Xueersi" ['study and ponder'] will become synonymous with "ability cultivation" and "teaching quality," taking on the responsibility for the education industry. At the same time, Zhang Bangxin stated that Xueersi will firmly follow the steps of the Party and the government, actively adhere to the direction of educational reform by the Party and the government, and use educational technology to help students learn more scientifically. Furthermore, TAL Education Group will step up its efforts to alleviate educational poverty, shaping correct educational concepts for society, and truly help the government and society solve educational problems.

(TAL Education Group's founder and CEO, Zhang Bangxin, delivering the full staff speech of "Responsible for a Good Future")

Scientific research of learning, allowing students to learn scientifically. As TAL Education Group's main sub-brand, last year, Xueersi officially announced its brand concept and key values as "lifelong benefitting capabilities," with its educational concept being "inspiring interest, cultivating habits, and shaping character." This reflects TAL Education Group's continuous improvement of teaching models in response to changes in the times and the deep-seated responsibility for the development of education in China. Since its establishment, TAL Education Group has always hoped to improve children's learning efficiency and interest through scientific teaching methods and advanced educational technology, promoting comprehensive and systematic learning for students.

"Our core is interaction and serving customers, so we will prioritize content development, targeting 'capabilities' and 'qualities,' and resolutely avoiding exceeding the syllabus or being ahead of it," said Zhang Bangxin. At the conference, Zhang Bangxin repeatedly emphasized the goal of cultivating students' learning literacy, using the example of mathematical literacy courses, stating that Xueersi will continue to focus on areas such as "mathematical culture, knowledge foundation, interesting explanations, synchronous deepening, synchronous expansion, exam preparation, and practical application" of mathematical literacy, without focusing solely on exam preparation.

(Zhang Bangxin proposing "Using Technology to Promote the Reduction of the Educational Burden in the New Era")

In addition to enhancing the content of teaching and research, as Zhang Bangxin introduced, TAL Education Group will continue to use precision tutoring through the Internet, big data, artificial intelligence, and other technologies in 2018. This will reduce students' study time and costs, and improve students' learning efficiency while reducing the financial burden on parents. TAL Education Group will also increase its investment in neuroscience in 2018, using neuroscience research to understand the underlying rules of students' learning difficulties and age stages, promoting education that truly benefits students' physical and mental health.
 

Strengthening efforts to alleviate educational poverty and providing "fair and high-quality education"
 

"Alleviating poverty in areas of deep poverty through education" is a major task entrusted to education by the central government. "Efforts to ensure that every child can enjoy fair and high-quality education" is the important mission given to education by the General Secretary. At the TAL Education Group's annual meeting, Zhang Bangxin stated that TAL Education Group will actively respond to the national call for educational poverty alleviation. In addition, TAL Education Group will further step up efforts to alleviate educational poverty, assisting the nation and the government in achieving "high-quality and equitable education," and providing all children in China with the opportunity to enjoy high-quality educational resources.

"Students in urban poverty and students in poor areas are the two major concentrations of unbalanced education in China, and are also the two key areas that TAL Education Group has always focused on and supported. TAL Education Group calls on the entire society to pay attention to the balanced development of educational resources in urban, rural, and eastern and western regions," Zhang Bangxin said. "In 2018, TAL Education Group will reduce the cost of accessing high-quality educational resources through free courses and lightweight courses, assisting in alleviating the burden on students and families. TAL Education Group also hopes to collaborate with the government and educational authorities to provide basic teaching resources from Xueersi to impoverished students, ensuring that every student has an equal opportunity to succeed and grow."

In recent years, China's education has gradually transitioned from "strengthening the construction of basic education" to the stage of "fair and high-quality education." Technology and the Internet are changing the traditional public welfare model, creating a new ecology of educational public welfare. Zhang Bangxin stated that TAL Education Group will also increase efforts in technological poverty alleviation in 2018, and through the "Hope Online" educational public welfare platform, will fully integrate TAL Education Group's high-quality online courses and teaching products, open to educationally resource-poor areas, in collaboration with the government, schools, and more partners, promoting the improvement of the quality of education throughout society.

Furthermore, TAL Education Group will focus on rural kindergartens in 2018, making them a priority for poverty alleviation. It is reported that TAL Education Group established the Founder's Public Welfare Fund last year, and has already donated to 30 rural kindergartens. The goal for this year is to donate to 100 rural kindergartens. "We will also organize staff to engage in educational support activities in the future. Public welfare is not only about helping others, but more importantly, it is about self-improvement," Zhang Bangxin also hopes that every employee of TAL Education Group will actively engage in educational public welfare activities. In 2013, TAL Education Group launched the "Public Welfare Day" activity, allowing each employee to enjoy 1 day of paid leave per year for public welfare activities. In 2015, TAL Education Group initiated the "Yi Bang Ren" plan internally, which encourages internal staff to engage in public welfare activities in the form of clubs. TAL Education Group has always hoped that its employees will organize themselves and collectively engage in public welfare, making an effort for public welfare through practical action.

Joining hands with the entire industry to establish the correct education concept
 

With social progress, education has become a shared topic for society, schools, and families. Private education, as a key component, plays an essential role in the growth and education of students. In its fifteen-year development journey, TAL Education Group has always maintained a student-centered approach, hoping to help students become better versions of themselves through inspiration, encouragement, and guidance. TAL Education Group has always hoped to work with the entire industry, guiding parents and society to clarify the correct educational concepts, allowing education to return to its essence, and this is also a key development focus for TAL Education Group in 2018.

Parents are increasingly valuing their children's education, and extracurricular tutoring is more responsible for providing higher quality education services to Chinese families. At the conference, Zhang Bangxin announced that in 2018, Xueersi and Parental Assistance will jointly launch the "Xueersi Family Education Annual Conference," guiding parents to calmly and rationally look at extracurricular training institutions and genuinely help more students in need of learning. At the same time, TAL Education Group will launch the "Xueersi Master Class," aimed at promoting children's learning abilities and broadening their horizons, fully implementing the education concept of "lifelong benefitting capabilities and qualities."

Establishing the correct educational concepts requires a strong industry and social collaborative effort. With the strong support of the state for education, many private educational institutions also hope to comply with national policies and actively reform and progress. TAL Education Group also hopes to open up its products and technology to the entire industry and society, bringing further technological relief. "We hope that educational institutions in the industry can have excellent technology, content, and products, providing society with more high-quality education," Zhang Bangxin said. "A single flower does not herald spring; a hundred flowers in full blossom signify the arrival of spring. Besides improving its own teaching standards, TAL Education Group also hopes to lead the entire industry in raising the quality of education and teaching, giving the entire society a new understanding of the extracurricular training industry."

(Seminar on "Learning and Implementing the Relevant Spirits of the Four Ministries on Regulating the Development of the Education Industry")

Only by closely following national government policies and regulations and establishing the correct direction can private education achieve healthy development and play a beneficial role. After the Ministry of Education and the other three ministries issued the "Notice on the Special Governance Action to Reduce the Extracurricular Burden of Primary and Secondary School Students and Carry out the Special Governance of Off-Campus Training Institutions," TAL Education Group immediately organized the "Learning and Implementation of the Relevant Spirits of the Four Ministries on Regulating the Development of the Education Industry" seminar, with all business departments and core project leaders under TAL Education Group attending. From embracing the new policies, TAL Education Group will always insist on making students the core, using cutting-edge technology as a means, and aiming to promote the sound development of the industry. While constantly improving the quality of education, TAL Education Group will assist in reducing the burden of education in the new era, promote the development of Chinese education, and contribute to the great dream of a "strong education nation" in China.