The South China Morning Post reported on May 1 that Zheng Feng, an associate professor at the Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications (China), became the focus of outrage on Chinese social media after an open letter from 15 students mentioned being exploited by lecturers.
According to the 23-page letter, posted on April 9, Zheng gave her students little research guidance during her teaching. Instead, she made them buy breakfast, clean her house, pick up packages, pick up and drop off friends and family, and help her daughter with her homework and tests. Students were also forced to help her daughter cheat on exams.
Gate of Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications (BUPT)
During vacations, Ms. Zheng kept students in the lab for more than 10 hours a day, and forced them to attend meetings after 10 p.m. If anyone complained, she threatened to kick them out of their research projects or delay their graduation.
“Ms. Zheng Feng treats us like slaves. Many things unrelated to research are taking up our time, along with countless insults and abuse,” the open letter said.
The letter, which said many of her students had been diagnosed with mental health issues, including anxiety and depression, quickly went viral on China’s social media platform Weibo. After the university learned of the news, it demoted Zheng and banned her from tutoring. The affected students have been offered psychological counseling.
According to the South China Morning Post , at mostuniversities in China, tutors directly assess students' grades, which can have a significant impact on their ability to graduate. This can create risks of teachers abusing their power.
A similar incident occurred in January, when Huazhong Agricultural University in Wuhan (China) fired professor Huang Feiruo, after 11 students and researchers accused him of academic fraud and exploitation.
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