China - 'If we die, it's our maths teacher's fault'

"If we die, it's our maths teacher's fault. Please call the police and have her arrested." That was the message left on the blackboard of their classroom before two grade-six schoolgirls in Anhui province attempted suicide last month.

Fortunately, the girls, aged 11 and 12, were rushed to the hospital in time.

In September, three girls in Jiangxi province jumped from a two-storey building because they could not finish their homework. They survived the fall.

Last week, a 13-year-old middle school student in Henan province leapt to her death from the sixth floor of a school, Dahe Daily reported. Her teacher had reportedly made her do 100 squat-and-stand ups for failing to do her homework.

The girls' actions sent shockwaves through Chinese society and raised questions as to whether children these days are under excessive pressure to do well in school. One of the most frequent complaints made by students is the amount of homework they have to do.

One of the Anhui girls kept mumbling while in a coma that she had to do homework or the teacher would drive her out of the classroom, her mother said.

Eleven-year-old Zhouzhou and her classmate Xiaomeng (not their real names) were made to sit at the back of the classroom because of their poor grades and were constantly taunted by their teacher.

Xiaomeng recalled that the teacher always said to her that "teaching you is just a waste of time".

"I am tired. They all don't understand me. I don't want to live," the 12-year-old wrote on the blackboard on Oct 24. She and Zhouzhou then drank pesticide.

When interviewed, their maths teacher, known only by her surname Jiang, told reporters she did not believe she was responsible for the girls' suicide attempt as she had never physically abused them.

She admitted, however, that her career prospects were dependent on her pupils' academic performance and teachers were under extreme pressure to make their charges score well.

"I have tried hard, but the performance of the class is still not good. Sometimes I criticise the naughty pupils who are lazy in their studies, but I do it for their own good," she was quoted as saying by the Global Times. She has since been suspended from work.

Education expert Wang Hongcai of Xiamen University told the Global Times that a vicious circle exists among parents, schools, teachers and students.

There are growing expectations among parents for their children to attend prominent schools, he said.

Teachers are then pressured to achieve high levels of academic performance in order to attract parents and students, he added. The stress is then passed on to the students when teachers increase the homework load and punish those with poor exam performances.

A survey of more than 20,000 students from 39 junior high schools in Shanghai found that about 60 per cent of them spend from two to four hours a day on homework, reported the China Daily on Tuesday. It also found that senior high school students sleep fewer than seven hours a day on average, which is one hour less than what the Ministry of Education recommends.

In China, students from the ages of 13 to 16 go to junior high school, and those from 16 to 19 to senior high school.

"Actually, both teachers and students are tired," high school teacher Chen Ying from Shandong province told the Global Times. "Teachers want to show their students more love. However, this is not appreciated as academic performance is all that matters. Even parents prefer that their children study in a well-performing class than in one with a caring and easygoing teacher."

While the girls' stories have sparked criticism of China's education system, some say parents should share the blame.

"Parents are also responsible," said Madam Yin Ming, a mother of a grade-five pupil in Shandong province.

"Some parents set expectations too high for children and arrange training classes during the child's spare time.

"Pressure from parents on children leads to the creation of communication barriers. Once the kids feel there is no way to release their emotions, they may resort to extreme actions," she told the Global Times.

Mr Kong Liang, father of a grade-six pupil in Hebei province, said: "Many parents are also busy with work and have little time to care for their children, which leads to psychological issues."

News Desk

The Straits Times

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