In its 2026 budget document, Yan'an University proposed measures to resolve its financial distress. With a sharp decline in the proportion of fiscal appropriations, the university has begun to assign revenue generation and funding targets to ordinary teachers.
Universities are requiring retroactive audits of corporate participation in teaching and graduation projects over the past three years, triggering a survival crisis for faculty unable to trace records or meet the indicators.
A PPT from the Southeast University Medical School circulating online shows that out of 236 freshmen enrolled, only 133 remain, a dropout rate of 43.6%. In Medical Imaging, 6 out of 21 remain, and in the 5+3 integrated clinical program, 39 out of 86 students transferred out. Some students claim that in their freshman year, the class size dropped from over 30 to 14.
On November 5, The Paper reported that universities including Jiangnan University, Heilongjiang University, Wenzhou University, and Northeast Forestry University have introduced AI classroom patrol systems to monitor attendance rates and student engagement (head-up rates). Jiangnan University's system covers 462 classrooms, has analyzed over 120,000 class hours, and automatically sends alerts for abnormal classroom situations, while Southern Medical University uses AI to grade classes.
On October 16, the Liangshan Prefecture investigation and handling task force announced that the county head of Leibo County was given an intra-Party warning and transferred from the county head post, the director of the county education and sports bureau received an administrative warning and was transferred out of the education system, the county party committee official in charge was admonished, and authorities apologized.
On October 14, according to a report by Modern Express, Li, director of the Education and Sports Bureau of Leibo County, Liangshan, Sichuan, has been transferred from his post. The county Education and Sports Bureau said the investigation is still ongoing, while the Liangshan Prefecture Education and Sports Bureau said the investigation and handling have been completed and the results will be released in accordance with regulations.
On October 14, a university teacher posted on a social platform, saying that what he teaches students is knowledge that is years behind, mocking himself as "a product of the previous industrial revolution teaching knowledge from the era of industrial Cthulhu," and feeling powerless for his students. The post received 857,000 likes and 157,000 reposts.
On October 14, a popular Xiaohongshu post titled "Investigation Into Sichuan Teachers Forced Into Shame Photo Still Yields No Results" was deleted after garnering over 11,000 likes and sparking heated public discussion.
On October 11, according to domestic media reports, a member of the parent committee at Siji School in Jinwan District, Zhuhai, proposed in a group chat that parents take turns going to the school to supervise students' midday rest, claiming the move was intended to allow teachers to rest better.
On September 29, the Beijing Institute of Technology announced that faculty member Pei Yi had seriously violated professional conduct standards for teachers, revoking his qualification as a graduate supervisor and terminating his employment. Pei Yi had previously sparked controversy over remarks made in class discussing feminism and noting that all members of the Politburo Standing Committee are male.
A netizen shared a video of two elderly people fighting over cardboard boxes, sparking sighs in the comments section about social involution. Some netizens pointed out that given the involution and food safety issues in China, many people might not even live long enough to reach the age of fighting over cardboard boxes.
Ministry of Education spokesperson and Vice Minister Wang Guangyan announced that China has built the world's largest and highest-quality education system, with 270 million people having received higher education.
On September 9, AI designer Mihrolla released a surrealist video, using metaphor to showcase the academic burden and ideological constraints in Chinese education.
China University of Petroleum: You're Mom If You Play Games
On September 5, 2026, primary and secondary school teachers in various regions posted on social media to complain about schools disguisedly forcing donations. Quotas were assigned based on senior teacher rank or permanent staff status, with requirements to post screenshots of the donations in work groups, triggering strong resentment.