Local education authorities in Tongbai county, Henan province, have disciplined a primary school teacher for making an inappropriate comment on a student's homework, according to an official statement released on Tuesday evening.
The bureau said the teacher, identified as Lin, wrote an improper remark after finding a fourth-grade student's handwriting unsatisfactory. The school has since taken disciplinary action, required the teacher to submit a written self-criticism, and issued an apology to the student's parents. Teachers have also visited the family in person.
The education bureau further issued a formal criticism of the school and summoned its principal for a meeting, pledging to strengthen professional ethics among teachers and prevent similar incidents.
The case came to public attention after a parent shared a photo of the comment online on Monday. The remark read: "Is your handwriting as ugly as you are?"
The parent accused the teacher of making a personal attack. A school official initially described the comment as a "joke" intended to encourage neater handwriting, while acknowledging that the wording was inappropriate.