Disturbing incidents of teachers physically assaulting and punishing students are on the rise in China. A boarding school in Huairen County, Shanxi province, is now facing backlash for its harsh punishment of a student who used the bathroom late at night. On September 10, a Form Three student at Yundong Secondary School in Shanxi province used the bathroom at 11:10 pm, violating school rules. An anonymous teacher said that the school had strict rules prohibiting students from walking around the dormitory after 10:45 pm, and surprisingly, even using the toilet was not allowed after this time.

As a consequence, the teenager was forced to write a ”deep self-reflection” letter and to distribute 1,000 photocopies of the essay to his schoolmates as punishment, the South China Morning Post reported. Five points were also deducted from his class’s monthly discipline score. In his self-reflection essay, the student expressed: ”I have seriously breached the school rules, and going to the toilet in the evening not only disturbed other students’ sleep but also brought shame to my class.”

The punishment meted out to the student for using the bathroom after curfew sparked widespread outrage online, with many condemning the school’s actions as excessive and unjust. Some also called the school a ”prison”. Critics argued that the penalty was grossly disproportionate to the offence, taking into account the student’s tender age and the fundamental human need to use the bathroom. Many expressed concerns that such harsh punishment would have a lasting impact on the student’s emotional well-being and self-esteem. 

One user wrote, ”I don’t understand why going to the toilet after 11 pm breaks the school’s rules. Who can control when they need to go?” Another commented, ”This school resembles a prison with such strict regulations.”

In response to the widespread criticism on social media, the Education Department of Huairen department instructed the school to reflect on its errors, revise its discipline policies, and engage with the students in a caring and compassionate manner.

Additionally, the school was ordered to reimburse the student 100 yuan (Rs 1,193) for the costs incurred in copying the self-reflection essay. To prevent similar incidents, officials directed all schools in the region to adopt “reasonable and humane” discipline policies. 

Notably, the worrying trend of student abuse by teachers in China has been persisting despite a government ban on corporal punishment in schools dating back to 1986. Last year, a nine-year-old girl underwent emergency surgery for a severely damaged skull, after a teacher allegedly used a metal ruler to hit her on the head.