Nova and Teaching English in Japan

NOVA Corp is the Japan’s largest English conversation school chain. And for those who teach English in Japan and are employed by Nova I say… DOH! I read the news back in April of 2007 when Nova got busted for breaking the law (they refused to refund tuition fees to students who canceled their contracts.) And recently people have not been getting paid for their work. Today things have gotten worse and Nova has filed for protection from the courts.

I wonder what this means for current employees and their work visas. Not only that but if an employees income stops or is slowed it could mean trouble for their living expenses. Damn.

Check out the news from Yahoo

Nova Corp , the largest operator of English language schools in Japan, said on Friday that it has filed for court protection from creditors amid efforts to turn around its business.

Following the company’s announcement, the Jasdaq Securities Exchange said it would delist Nova’s shares on Nov. 27.

Nova, which operates over 900 schools in Japan, posted net losses for the past two business years and said it held a total 43.9 billion yen in debt as of July.

More on this:
Aussie teachers lose jobs in Japanese school shutdown
Google News
Nova applies for court protection from creditors; president missing, 4 execs resign
Scandal-tainted school Nova granted court protection from creditors

2 Responses to “Nova and Teaching English in Japan”

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1 Steve
Oct 29th, 2007 at 2:21 pm

Here’s an updated article about Nova from The Yomiuri Shimbun

In the wake of Nova Corp.’s filing for court protection Friday, employees said that although they were anxious over their livelihoods, they were relieved to no longer have to cope with a barrage of complaints from students and teachers.

Nova, the nation’s largest English-language school chain, applied for protection under the Corporate Rehabilitation Law with the Osaka District Court with debt of about 50 billion yen and suspended operations of all its schools.

Employees, mainly in their 20s, remained at their workplaces until the last moment, while many teachers had already stopped reporting to work over delays in salary payments. Lesson fees were also refunded to students who canceled their contracts with Nova. An employee in her 20s, who was manager of a branch in an office district in the Tokyo metropolitan area, said she began working for Nova after graduating from university as she wished to help people who wanted to learn English.
2 Steve
Oct 29th, 2007 at 2:26 pm

Here are a few more articles
Is it all over for Nova?
Nova files for bankruptcy with debt of Â¥43.9 billion