Students participate in a "gratitude education"activity in Zhongmou No.3 high school in Central China's Henan Province. Photo: screenshot of an online video

 
A high school in Central China's Henan Province issued an apology on Tuesday morning after a "gratitude education" activity drew widespread criticism online, following the circulation of a video showing parents kneeling while students walked over their backs.

In a statement released on its official WeChat account, the Zhongmou No.3 High School in Zhongmou County, Zhengzhou, said that on September 30, the school's first-year students held a home-school co-education activity, and some classes, with parental consent, conducted a "Gratitude Education" outreach event.

"Due to inadequate consideration of specific details, inappropriate formats occurred during the event, leading to misunderstandings among some media and netizens. We hereby express our apologies," the school said.

The statement came after a video circulating online showed parents kneeling in a row on the ground while blindfolded students, assisted by classmates, stepped on their backs as sentimental music played in the background. Some netizens said that while the intention behind the activity was good, the method was controversial, according to media reports.

"In future educational and teaching activities, we will pay attention to methods and approaches, further optimize our educational practices, and strengthen standardized management. We express our gratitude to all sectors of society for their care, attention, and supervision of our school," the Zhongmou No.3 High School said in the statement on Tuesday.