Vocational school dismisses official over voting scandal

A vocational college in Zhengzhou, Henan province, dismissed a senior administrator on Wednesday after he allegedly organized students to vote in an online poll for his son, who was competing in a singing contest at a school in Zhejiang province.

The case has drawn sharp criticism over the misuse of power and violations of educational ethics.

The Zhengzhou Electric Power Secondary Specialized School took action after online posts accused an administrator surnamed Zhou of misconduct, prompting the school's board to launch an investigation. The probe found that on Sunday, Zhou — a member of the school's leadership — arranged for students to boost his son's ranking in the competition.

Evidence of the scheme surfaced in a widely circulated screenshot showing a teacher posting a notice in a class group chat that described the voting as an "important task assigned by the leadership." Students were instructed to "select and vote as soon as you see the name Zhou Haipeng," the administrator's son. After a student shared the screenshot online, a teacher demanded it be deleted. The student refused, recorded the exchange and later uploaded the video, sparking broad discussion.

In a statement posted Wednesday on its WeChat account, the school's board said Zhou had been removed from his position under relevant regulations and ordered to apologize to affected students and faculty.

"The incident has exposed shortcomings in our institution's efforts to uphold professional ethics and in campus management," the statement said. "We sincerely apologize to the public."

The school said it would draw lessons from the case, strengthen ethical guidelines for staff and prevent similar incidents. It also called for continued public oversight.

The episode has raised wider concerns about integrity in education and the example set by those in authority.

In a commentary, people.cn said that by turning power into a "vote-rigging instrument," Zhou damaged trust within the school and undermined the fairness that education should uphold.

"Education is a mission of nurturing character and integrity — there is no room for abuse of authority or blurred lines between private interest and public duty," the commentary said. "This case should serve as a mirror for all educators: Power must be exercised with responsibility, and professionalism must always come before personal privilege."