School officials punished for changing exam scores

School officials at South China University of Technology in Guangzhou, Guangdong province have been punished for changing 10 students' national postgraduate entrance examination scores last year, the university said on Thursday.

Zhang Jun, dean of the university's school of computer science and engineering, has been removed from his post and forbidden to supervise any other postgraduate candidates, the university said in a statement.

The university also ended its contract with Zhang and asked education authorities to rescind his academic titles and research plans, it said.

Lian Weijie, Party secretary of the school of computer science and engineering, Yu Zhiwen, former vice-dean of the school, and Yang Yiren, deputy Party secretary of the school, have been removed from the Party and downgraded to lower positions, it said.

Yu has been forbidden to supervise any postgraduate candidates and the university has asked education authorities to remove his academic title. He was removed from his post in October, it said.

After students were interviewed in March 2018, Zhang and the other three school officials held a meeting to determine which students would be enrolled, during which they changed the 10 students' scores, it said.

The university will change the student enrollment according to the initial results of the interview, it added.

The Ministry of Education has given an administrative warning to Wang Yingjun, who was president of the university last year.

Li Zheng, vice-president of the university, has been given a demerit from the ministry, while The ministry has criticized Zhang Xichun, Party secretary of the university, and Liu Qijin, deputy Party secretary of the university, it said on Thursday.