OSAKA — Thinking about studying English at a private school chain? If so, proceed with caution and know what you're getting into, say university English professors, teachers union representatives and the English-language schools themselves.
Their comments follow a recent scandal involving Nova Corp., which has cast a spotlight on the business practices of the "eikaiwa" English conversation industry.
Earlier this month, the government slapped the industry's top company with a six-month ban on new customer contracts due to its deceptive practices, including distributing pamphlets that claim students can schedule classes at any time or branch, when in fact there was a shortage of teachers at times of peak demand.