Last month, a high school in Hubei Province installed a bust of a student who was accepted at Tsinghua University, one of the top universities in China, saying that the move was to congratulate the student and encourage others to achieve better marks. But they didn't get the reaction they were hoping for.

At the entrance of the school in Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, the bust of a student surnamed Yang stands on a platform inscribed with words praising him as an icon of local education who made great a contribution.

His major achievement was getting into Tsinghua University with a focus on computer science, after scoring 668 on the gaokao, China's national college entrance examinations, earning the highest score in the prefecture in 2012.

Yang and his classmates were taken aback by the honor bestowed on him by the school, and the topic became the subject of online discussion after a Web user posted about it on Saturday.

Although the school claimed its motive for erecting the sculpture was to promote education, experts and netizens criticized the move, saying it reflected that the school judged students only on academic performance.

Experts said the presence of the bust would only place heavy pressure on students and highlighted problems in China's education system, particularly its obsession with grades and testing. 

"The flaws of our education system and concept triggered the school's decision, which will have a bad impact on children's psychological health, as it teaches them that entering an elite university is everything in life," one Web user wrote, a sentiment that was reposted many times.

In response to the online discussion, the high school admitted that the decision was a bit outrageous and announced that they would tear down the sculpture on Thursday.

Global Times