A young boy with cancer was forced to sit alone in school because his teacher believed he was contagious.
The 13-year-old was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin lymphoma one year ago and since then, was made to sit apart from his friends at his school in south-east China.
And the discrimination didn’t stop there; Xiaozhou was also prohibited to sit exams with fellow students.
The primary school teacher has since been suspended after being accused of discrimination, Strait News reported.
The teenager’s dad, Zhou Xiongying, only transferred him to the school in question, Liancheng Primary School in Quanzhou, in September this year so that he could be close to his parents while receiving treatment.
But Zhou soon realised something was not right when he noticed his son had not received any exam results since attending the school.
When the boy’s father asked him why this was, he told him the answer – that his teacher was not allowing him to sit exams with his fellow students because he was ‘contagious’.
The 13-year-old had reportedly already missed three exams because of his teacher, and this was not showing any signs of improving.
According to the report from Strait News, his dad was quoted as saying:
In the 45 minutes of the exam, my son was sitting in the classroom like a fool. What was he thinking? How sad he should be?
The boy’s father went on to say that the teenager had not told his family because he didn’t want them to worry.
He said:
And he was afraid of his parents to worry about it, and he didn’t say a word. As long as I think of this, I am very sad.
Xiaozhou was diagnosed with cancer last year and as such, had undergone surgery and underwent six courses of chemotherapy as part of his treatment.
On top of that, he had to deal with the school move and then the treatment from his teacher which left him feeling isolated.
A statement released by Fujian Huian Education Ministry states that the teacher in question, who was also the vice president of the school, has since been suspended.
It reads:
The Hui’an County Education Bureau recently learned about the unfairness of students in Liancheng Primary School and immediately launched an investigation to properly handle the problems reflected.
Zhou Moumou, the relevant responsible teacher, was relieved of the post of vice president, suspended for inspection, and transferred from work; the first time to talk about Zhang Moumou, the headmaster of Liancheng Primary School, ordered him to suspend his review.
The County Education Bureau will continue to pay attention to the situation of the student.
In an interview with reporters, the President of the school, President Zhang, defended the teacher, also called Mr. Zhou.
They said Mr. Zhou had been teaching there for more than 20 years and so he does not believe they would do such a thing.
Hopefully the teenager will now be able to return to his proper education and can continue with his recovery.
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues, and want to speak to someone in confidence contact Macmillan’s Cancer Support Line on 0808 808 00 00 (Monday – Friday, 9am – 8pm).
A Broadcast Journalism Masters graduate who went on to achieve an NCTJ level 3 Diploma in Journalism, Lucy has done stints at ITV, BBC Inside Out and Key 103. While working as a journalist for UNILAD, Lucy has reported on breaking news stories while also writing features about mental health, cervical screening awareness, and Little Mix (who she is unapologetically obsessed with).