At the 2026 Chongli Forum, New Oriental founder Yu Minhong stated, "During the internet era, New Oriental was able to reach over 500,000 primary and secondary students in rural and village areas annually, providing them with curriculum, learning, and resource support—an initiative we continue to this day. In the artificial intelligence era, my foremost goal is to solve the challenge of enabling hundreds of millions of rural students across China to benefit from personalized teaching and learning services, enhanced by AI to match urban educational standards, all without the need for teachers."
Yu Minhong candidly remarked, "Frankly, I am uncertain how much development artificial intelligence can bring to New Oriental, or whether it can revitalize our business model and elevate it to new heights. However, if the integration of AI and education can narrow or eliminate the gap in teaching and learning levels between rural children and their urban counterparts, that would be an immeasurably virtuous achievement."
He pointed out two glaring inequalities in China’s education system. "One is the inequality between education in developed cities and that in rural and remote areas. This disparity leads children to grow up under different educational systems, resulting in gaps in cognitive abilities. The other is the significant inequality within the same region—for example, even in Beijing’s highly developed Haidian District, primary schools in areas like the hot springs at the back of Haidian give off a rural school vibe. The advent of the internet hasn’t truly resolved this issue; superficially, numerous large internet platforms have been built, amassing vast educational resources, yet they have done little to close the rural-urban education gap. So, whether the next wave of artificial intelligence can address this problem is a topic I am seriously contemplating and repeatedly emphasizing to New Oriental’s technical team."
Yu Minhong also extended an invitation on the spot: "AI experts and young entrepreneurs present here, if you are interested in the relatively public-spirited field of rural education, our investment does not seek returns. We simply hope that, under a low-cost premise, every rural child can access relevant services. Interested individuals are welcome to connect with me; I am willing to collaborate in advancing this cause, whether through investment or establishing a public welfare fund. We can form a dedicated group to explore how AI can assist rural primary and secondary schools. While New Oriental lacks the capacity to develop large-scale models—funds would be exhausted in a single day—we are capable of combining AI in specific vertical fields to create useful solutions for ordinary people."
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