Disciplinary violations spark online concern

A list of disciplinary violations published on the "Hebi Senior School Class of 2021" WeChat public account on Wednesday sparked concern.

In the "Report on Disciplinary Violations from Jan. 18 to Jan. 24" the "violations" of dozens of students were listed in detail and the class names of each student identified. In addition to the usual "sleeping in class," and "missing class," other "disciplinary violations" included "putting on hand cream," "combing hair," "sitting improperly" and "yawning constantly.”

Teachers at Hebi Senior School told thepaper.cn that the WeChat account belonged to the school's 2021 senior third-grade group and was not the school’s official account. The publisher deleted the post the following day.

Many online comments expressed puzzlement. They said yawning or going to the toilet should not be criticized, and some believed the criteria for judging violations unreasonable. Some thought that putting the report online was not proper, and reporting within the school was better. Some laughed and said they felt as if they were back at school and being criticized. 

The school in central China’s Henan Province said the matter was investigated on Thursday. They admitted there were improper methods and irregular management in the report. In response, they would criticize and educate the senior third-grade director and others responsible, and ask the director make a public apology to the students and parents involved.

The head teacher and the psychology teacher will talk to students involved one by one to eliminate any possible adverse effect on their mental health. The teachers of the whole school will take the incident as a warning and prevent such incidents in the future.