Need to regulate teacher-student relations to prevent tragedies

EDUCATION AUTHORITIES SHOULD REGULATE TEACHERS' CONDUCT and ensure a healthy teacher-student relationship. This has become essential after another postgraduate student committed suicide after being allegedly exploited by his teacher. China Daily writer Wang Yiqing comments:

Some netizens have claimed on social media that a postgraduate student of Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications killed himself on the campus last month following long-term verbal abuse and exploitation by one of his teachers.

The university said on Jan 5 that a postgraduate student was found dead on Dec 26, and that it would cooperate with the authorities to ensure a thorough probe into the tragedy.

While the university did not say that the student committed suicide because he could not take any more insults from the teacher, it admitted that the teacher did insult the student and forced him to work for her private company. The incident has triggered a furor on social media.

The university has disqualified the teacher, and take measures to ensure teachers behave properly with students in order to create a healthy environment.

In recent years some postgraduate students have killed themselves following exploitation or mental torture by their teachers.

Under the existing postgraduate education system, teachers have unlimited control over the students' future as they evaluate their academic performance. Some less-qualified teachers are known to abuse their power and insult and exploit their students. Fearing it could cost them their diploma, most students dare not defy their teachers.

Forcing their students to work on their personal projects or for their companies for free is another unhealthy practice that some teachers indulge in. No wonder some postgraduate students address their teachers as "boss".

Such unhealthy teacher-student relations seriously undermine students' interests. It is high time the authorities implemented regulations to curb such an unhealthy practice and punished such teachers to prevent such tragedies.