A student from a vocational school in China recently captured public attention by ranking high in the initial round of a math competition, but investigations revealed that she received unauthorized help from her teacher, breaching competition guidelines. This revelation was announced by the organizing committee of the Alibaba Global Mathematics Competition earlier this week.
The committee’s investigation confirmed that the math teacher’s assistance contravened the established rules prohibiting discussions with others during the competition. The extent to which this assistance influenced her performance remains unclear. Jiang Ping, a fashion design student, became a sensation when she secured the 12th position in the preliminary round of this challenging contest, which attracts participants from prestigious universities including Cambridge, MIT, and Caltech.
Following her impressive results, Jiang was celebrated in her hometown in Jiangsu province, with large posters of her image adorning local shopping malls. Major universities in the area took to social media to commend her achievement, creating an atmosphere of local pride. However, just a week later, some concerns surfaced on social media regarding her performance, particularly pointing out anomalies in a blackboard filled with complex mathematical equations during a televised interview with state broadcaster CCTV.
In response to the situation, the Jiangsu Lianjiang Vocational School announced that the teacher, Wang Runqiu, had been reprimanded and will be ineligible for any evaluations for a year—those evaluations typically affect salary adjustments and promotions. However, no disciplinary actions were indicated for the student, and the school urged the public to exercise more understanding and compassion towards her, considering her young age.
The Alibaba math competition, which was launched six years ago by the Chinese e-commerce powerhouse, aims to identify and nurture students with a passion for mathematics. According to founder Jack Ma, the initiative is designed to encourage and support talented math enthusiasts.
The preliminary round of the competition was structured as an open-book test, allowing candidates to utilize various online and offline resources and programming tools, while explicitly forbidding collaborative discussions. The organizing committee acknowledged flaws in their competition framework and management practices in their apology following the investigation.
Wang Runqiu, who also participated in the competition, placed 125th in the preliminary round. Though both he and Jiang advanced to the final stage out of 802 contestants, the committee later clarified that neither secured a position among the 86 winners. Efforts to contact both Wang and Jiang have proven unsuccessful, and the Damo Academy, which oversees the contest, did not respond to requests for comments, nor did the vocational school return calls on the matter.