The hyper-competitive environment of Chinese education has driven many parents to do what it takes to give their children the best treatment possible: uproot to an expensive area, work long hours, fork out for tutors, or flatter teachers to make sure their children are taken good care of.
However, a parent from Putian City, east China's Fujian Province, went too far. The mother, surnamed Wang, ended up in the social media spotlight on Friday after a screenshot of the Wechat chat history was exposed.
Screenshot of the Wechat chat history /Weibo Photo
In the image that caused public outrage, the parent straightly showed off the positions at work of her family members, including her husband, her father and her sister, asking a teacher, surnamed Liao, to give more concern to her kid.
From the mother's statement, her husband is a legal professional in the city's Intermediate Court; her father works at the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection; her sister's husband is a HR head in the Education Bureau and herself, a staff of the city's Tourism Development Board.
All listed positions were in the public servants, implying the family's socioeconomic status. Many netizens stated it was clear the mother was trying to coerce the teacher.
A document circulating online seemingly related to the teacher's dismissal. /Southern Metropolis Daily Photo
“The mother is combining threats with inducements. How dare she do this to the teacher!” said user @RON on China's twitter-like platform Weibo.
"Is she performing some comedy dialogue ‘Reporting the official titles?'" another user @Ayang said, referencing it to the famous Chinese cross talk show called “Reporting the dish names.”
Since the screenshot has circulated online, rumors have been flying around stating that the teacher has been fired but the education department denied this claim and a relevant staff member said they had started an investigation into the parent.
Meifeng Elementary School's statement on the issue /Screenshot from the school's official website
On Friday afternoon, the Putian City Commission for Discipline Inspection told the Chongqing-based media Shangyou News that they also are involved in the investigation.
Seen from the screenshot, the teacher just sent back a polite “OK” and a smiling face emoji to the mother. It is unknown if the involving child received an “edge” over other children or not. But according to the immediate declaration of the elementary school she works at, all students are treated equally and are not differentiated by family backgrounds.
The school also claimed Teacher Liao is performing duties as a head teacher and called for the protection of underage students' privacy.