Top scorer may be denied by uni for lying about ethnicity

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-06-29 10:28

BEIJING: A talented Chinese student who got a place at the prestigious Peking University may not be enrolled for lying about his ethnic status during the national college entrance examination.

He Chuanyang, who attended Nankai Middle School, scored 659, which was the highest in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality and earned him a place at the Peking University in Beijing, Monday's China Daily reported.

However, local admission office said he and 30 other students were found to have falsely claimed 20 additional test points because of their "ethnic minority status".

Feng Zhiyue, head of Peking University's admission branch in Chongqing, told Beijing Evening News that the school admission office would decide whether to enroll the students who cheated on the exam.

The final results will be released after further investigation, according to the local admission office.

The boy's father, He Yeda, head of Wushan County admission office, told Beijing Youth that he feels regret for the wrongdoing and is ready for any punishment, but that his son knew nothing about the ethnicity change.

The son said he was not sure what his ethnicity was because his grandparents lived like minority Tujia people.

The case has provoked many comments from netizens, some of whom have shown sympathy for the boy and blame the current education system.

"With the severe competition for college entrance and increasing point-add categories, parents and students will not give up any possibility to get bonus points," Lan Yuhong, a student in Beijing Sports University, said yesterday.

In July 2007, three top scorers for both Han and minority groups were refused entry to universities because they had lied about their ethnicity.