Nova Corp., reeling from a fraudulent-advertising scandal, is considering shutting down at least 200 out of its about 900 school branches around late September to turn around its operations, sources close to the matter said Thursday.
The nation’s largest English-language school operator plans to close mainly money-losing school branches, but the company is being compelled to close some of the 200 because it has failed to pay their rents, the sources said.

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Major English language teaching chain NOVA is considering shutting down a large number of schools, it emerged on Thursday.

NOVA’s income from lesson fees has decreased since the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry issued the language school a partial business suspension order over its practices. Because of this, the school is apparently pushing for a turnaround, hoping to cut costs by trimming and merging unprofitable schools.

NOVA currently operates more than 900 schools, but problems with efficiency have emerged.

Officials close to the group said NOVA has already been trimming and merging schools, focusing on unprofitable schools with low student numbers, but in the future the chain will also apply the move to major schools in cities where rents are high and there is more than one school in the same area. As many as 100 schools could be affected.

The language school will reportedly make considerations for students, allowing them to take lessons at other nearby schools.

http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/national/news/20070920p2a00m0na029000c.html