Illustration: Lu Ting/GT

 
The topic of whether there is a need for forming WeChat groups for parents sparked heated discussion on the internet on Monday, resonating with many parents who said they have been under great pressure from WeChat groups for teachers asking them to perform the work of the teaching staff.

The topic went viral after a parent in Jiangsu Province posted a short video in which he shouted "What's wrong with me quitting the WeChat group?" The parent held that the teacher has made parents assume the school's responsibility by asking parents, via a WeChat group, to tutor their children and correct their homework. 

The topic of school parents' WeChat groups has trended among many parents since coverage in a story released by Cover News on Monday. Many parents posted supportive messages for the Jiangsu parent, listing more problems about parents' WeChat groups.

"I dare not to block group messages, for fear of missing important notices in the group. But there are always a lot of useless group texts. You don't know whether you should check these messages or not," said a parent on Weibo.

Some netizens also agreed that parents tend to excessively compliment or extend their gratitude to the teachers in WeChat group, with the aim of winning favors to influence the teacher giving preferential treatment to their own children. Many parents said they even have to clean the classroom or go to the school canteen to help with food service.

The topic trended on China's Twitter-like platform Sina Weibo and was viewed 300 million times on the platform, attracting more than 22,000 comments. A related topic, "all it takes is only one WeChat group for parents to make an adult break down" also got a lot of attention on Weibo.

Cover News launched a poll on its Weibo account on the topic of whether there is a need for parents' WeChat groups, in which 136,000 of nearly 160,000 respondents voted that the parent group was not necessary, while only 23,000 voted yes.

Many netizens expressed their opinions on this topic. "This topic should gain the attention from education management department of China," commented one netizen. "Why do parents have to clean up the school?" asked another.

However, some netizens said WeChat groups for parents are necessary. A netizen pointed out that "If you are just a common person, but expect your children to perform well in school, then you must pay attention to teacher's arrangements for parents no matter how hard your work is. Or, feel free to pass the buck to teachers."

Global Times