A teenage student from China, initially celebrated for her exceptional performance in a math competition, has been found to have cheated, according to competition officials.
Jiang PingThe BBC reports that June, who studied fashion design at a rural vocational school in Jiangsu province, gained considerable attention in June after finishing 12th in the qualifying round of an international mathematics competition organized by Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba.
Her achievement was particularly notable as she became the first student from a professional institution to reach the finals since the competition’s inception in 2018. The competition usually consists of finalists from prestigious universities.
Her apparent success made her an instant sensation, with media outlets and social platforms celebrating her form. Mathematical genius.
In China’s highly competitive educational environment, academic achievements receive considerable recognition. Jiang’s apparent success resonated with many, who saw it as proof that business students can achieve academic excellence.
However, after growing speculation about her ability, organizers said on Sunday that Jiang had violated competition rules in the preliminary round by receiving help from her teacher who was participating in the competition.
The organizers admitted their shortcomings, saying: “It exposed problems such as inadequacies in the competition format and lack of rigor in supervision. We sincerely apologize.”
The final results announced on Sunday removed both Jiang and her teacher from the list of 86 winners. The math competition, run annually by Alibaba’s research division, Damo Academy, welcomes participants from academic institutions around the world.
This year, Jiang, enrolled at Jiangsu Lianshui Secondary Vocational School, appears to have outperformed students from well-known institutions including Peking University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Oxford University.
“Learning maths is difficult, but every time I solve the problems I feel very happy,” she told the state-run People’s Daily.
“Whatever the future holds, I will continue to learn,” she added.
‘Jiang is not the mastermind’
As Jiang’s fame grew, doubts arose about his mathematical abilities. In June, fellow finalists collectively petitioned the competition committee, requesting the release of the investigation and his preliminary test responses.
The finalists questioned her qualifications in an online video, citing “very obvious spelling errors” and that she “seemed unfamiliar with these mathematical expressions and symbols”.
Although programming software was allowed in the preliminary round, the final was conducted as a closed-book examination. The declaration of results, originally scheduled for August, faced significant delays.
Jiang was not among the 86 successful candidates when the results were announced on Sunday.
His school released a statement acknowledging that his teacher, Wang, had helped. Wang received a warning and lost his eligibility for the teacher award that year. The statement asked for consideration and protection for Jiang.
According to the BBC, the school has not yet responded.
Although the revelation prompted criticism of both Jiang and her teacher, many social media users defended the teenager, suggesting that the school and teacher bore greater responsibility.
Netizens on Weibo said: “Even if everything is fake, Jiang Ping was not the mastermind behind it.”