Refer China: Dongying School Backlash ： Ordered to Halt Vehicle Data Collection

Dongying school in Shandong faces backlash over parent vehicle data, including brands and prices. Bureau ordered halt and deletion on June 30.

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Dongying School Backlash ： Ordered to Halt Vehicle Data Collection

A middle school in eastern China’s Shandong Province has drawn fierce online criticism after issuing a questionnaire requiring incoming students to submit highly detailed personal information about their parents, including vehicle brands, license plate numbers and car purchase prices.

China Newsweek reported that Dongying No.1 Middle School handed out the information collection forms to newly admitted junior high students in late June. The document contained standard fields such as parents’ full names, work units, job titles and contact phone numbers.

Beyond basic identity details, the form demanded full vehicle-related information: car brand, license plate number and how much the vehicle cost to buy. To ease parental worries, the school attached a special note on the vehicle section claiming the data would “only be used internally by the school” and urging families to fill it out truthfully without concern.

Once photos of the form circulated online, widespread public backlash erupted, with netizens suspecting the school intended to classify students based on their families’ financial status.

One netizen questioned the necessity of such data collection: “Does this mean teachers will treat kids unequally depending on how wealthy their parents are? If not, why would the school go out of its way to gather this information?”

Another user voiced anxiety over potential unfair treatment at school: “If I mark myself unemployed on the form, will my child be assigned to sit in the very last row of the classroom?”

A third critic slammed the institution’s conduct: “This school’s behavior is disgraceful. Its teachers have forgotten their fundamental mission as educators who shape young minds.”

Faced with mounting public pressure, the Dongying Municipal Education Bureau released an official response on June 30. The authority confirmed it had completed an investigation into the controversy, ordering the school to immediately halt all such information collection and permanently erase all previously collected parental data.

“We will learn a profound lesson from this incident. We will launch city-wide inspections covering all local schools to root out similar improper information-gathering practices, and step up efforts to fully safeguard the personal privacy of students and their guardians,” the bureau pledged in the statement.

An alumnus who graduated from the school years ago told reporters that he was also required to submit identical family and vehicle data upon enrollment back then. According to the alumnus surnamed Zhang, school staff previously justified collecting car information by claiming it supported campus traffic safety management.

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Editor: Crystal H