Refer China: An impoverished county in southwestern China issued an apology for arranging its primary

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An impoverished county in southwestern China issued an apology for arranging its primary and junior secondary school teachers on stage to pose for photos alongside prominent characters depicting humiliation due to their students’ low test scores.

Screenshot from South China Morning Post

The images, which went viral on social media, sparked widespread public condemnation. They were captured at an internal meeting organised by the Leibo County Education Bureau in Sichuan province in late August, as reported by Zhengzai News.

During an award and punishment session, over 20 primary school teachers were instructed to stand on stage for a group photo, with a large screen behind them displaying the median scores from their students’ most recent exam, which were below 30 out of a total of 100.

Two large Chinese characters, chi ru, meaning “humiliation” in English, were prominently displayed in the centre of the screen, directly behind the teachers.

Later, another group of 20 junior secondary school teachers, whose students’ average scores fell below 15 out of 100, also took the stage for group photos, similarly featuring the humiliating characters on the big screen.

These photos rapidly circulated online, and the incident of public humiliation directed at the teachers garnered over 100 million views on a leading social media platform alone.

“This is ridiculous! Do they ever respect teachers?” questioned one internet user.

Students focusing on intense classroom work. Driven by heavy study loads, China’s student myopia rate ranks among the highest globally. Photo: Shutterstock

Another outraged user commented: “I am disheartened to read this news report. Are the education bureau’s leaders treating teachers as their slaves? I believe these leaders should resign immediately.”

Leibo is a remote and impoverished county in Sichuan province, predominantly inhabited by the Yi ethnic minority. Many residents include left-behind children, whose parents work in larger cities for better opportunities.

A junior secondary school teacher in Shanghai, who wishes to remain anonymous, expressed empathy for the teachers, acknowledging the challenges of teaching and enabling students to achieve high scores in such a disadvantaged area.

“Their parents are absent from home, so there’s no one to supervise their studies. When students do not apply themselves, teachers have no authority to discipline them. Consequently, students often lack seriousness in their studies, which understandably results in extremely low scores,” said the Shanghai teacher.

Domestic media criticised the local authorities for their actions.

“Rather than identifying the specific factors contributing to students’ poor performance, the authorities merely shamed the teachers. This constitutes a crude and heavy-handed management approach that fails to motivate educators. Furthermore, it complicates the retention of current teachers,” stated news portal guancha.cn in a commentary on August 27.

Students study at a gaokao exam site in Changsha, Hunan province. In China, high-stakes tests heavily dictate a student’s future. Photo: Xinhua/Chen Sihan

In light of public backlash, the Leibo county government issued an apology on August 28.

“What we did at the meeting was a wrongful act of disrespect towards teachers. It has caused psychological harm to those involved,” the statement read.

“We feel deeply guilty about this and are reflecting on our mistake,” the authorities added, noting that an investigation into the incident is ongoing.

Despite the State Council of China’s clear stipulation in 2020 through its New Era Education Assessment Reform Plan that schools and authorities should not solely prioritise students’ scores, this trend remains largely uncorrected.

Schools whose students excel in significant examinations, such as the secondary school entrance exam and the national university entrance exam, continue to be favoured within society, with their headmasters gaining more opportunities for promotion within the education system.

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Editor:Vivi G

Refer China

An impoverished county in southwestern China issued an apology for arranging its primary

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