Chinese authorities investigate private boarding school after student blows whistle on alleged abuse, public shaming and excessive tests
- The story broke after one student wrote a lengthy essay online detailing a series of alleged abuses at the school
- The student said they had been suffering from depression and anxiety for about a year as a result of the abuse and had ceased studying there
A teenage student has accused a private boarding school of shaming and abusing students, excessive testing and treating students like “test machines”, prompting local authorities to investigate.
An official from Taocheng District Education Bureau of Hengshui, Hebei province in northern China, said they are investigating the Taocheng Middle School after a lengthy article by a student at the school went viral last week, news portal eastday.com reported.
The student, whose gender or age is not clear, said they had been suffering from depression and anxiety for about a year and has suspended their study at the school.
“There are many students with psychological problems around me … and I believe this school has played a role in it,” the student said at the beginning of the post.
The student’s social media account has been cancelled. But a screenshot of the article continues to circulate widely online.