On February 17, 2025, a 45-year-old female primary school teacher in Wenzhou, Zhejiang, was reported to have committed suicide by hanging herself inside a classroom. It is rumored that she could not handle the pressure of being at the bottom of the rankings and had been publicly humiliated by the school principal. As of the time of reporting, official authorities have not made any announcements regarding this incident.
Multiple online platforms have been spreading the news that a woman surnamed Fang in her 40s from Baili Road Primary School in Wenzhou had committed suicide. It is said that Fang was the homeroom teacher of Class 6, aged 45. On the Lantern Festival, which was on February 12, parents found Fang hanging in the classroom from the ceiling fan when they were setting up the classroom. A farewell ceremony for the deceased will be held at 9 a.m. on February 18 at Pingyang Funeral Home.
There were also rumors circulating online indicating that one of the reasons for Fang’s suicide was the school’s strict assessment of the graduating class. If the class led by a teacher ranked in the bottom two, not only would they be assessed as unsatisfactory for the year, but their performance bonuses would also be forfeited. Moreover, it was explicitly stated in related meetings that there was a bottom-ranking elimination system, and the two worst-performing teachers would be disqualified from evaluations and face salary deductions. Another reason cited was that a parent of a child who was supposed to attend a special school had complained about Fang to the school, leading the principal to publicly scold Fang in front of the entire staff.
According to public information, Baili Road Primary School has a history of a hundred years.
Regarding Fang’s suicide, the school claimed to the public that Fang had died from a “sudden heart attack”. Currently, there has been no official announcement made on this matter. Some information has been deleted.
Upon learning of Fang’s death, many netizens have posted expressing sympathy.
“I hope Fang’s family can take care and wish Fang a peaceful journey.”
“Nowadays, teachers face immense pressure. Various assessments make it unbearable for teachers!”
“The never-ending teacher competitions every year, not wanting to participate will make leaders resent you, truly exhausting.”
“The daily pressure from parents and leaders to squeeze students really drains people.”
Some netizens expressed their distress over the situation. In terms of school assessments, it is not just about focusing on grades while suffocating teachers. They hope that in the future, schools will pay more attention to teachers’ mental stress while focusing on teaching, to prevent such tragedies from happening again.