A middle school student in Jiaozhou, Shandong province, may have missed out on going to his university of choice because his application was tampered with by a classmate.
Chang Sheng, 19, is from an impoverished farming family. He applied to study physical education at Shaanxi Normal University on July 5, and would have enjoyed tuition-free study if enrolled.
"I received notice on July 23 that I was not enrolled. This was a surprise because my college entrance exam scores met the standard," Chang told the local Huashang Daily. "Besides, the university didn't receive enough applications from the area."
Chang checked his records and found that his application had not been submitted to the correct university.
"I can recall the day that I submitted my application through my teacher's computer. The teacher told us to arrive at 8 am and gave us some instructions. I submitted mine around 10 am and my classmate Guo was sitting next to me. He must have used my username and password to log on to the system," he said.
Chang's suspicions were proved correct when he contacted Guo through their teacher. Guo admitted to changing the name of the university on Chang's form because they were both applying to the same college, and Chang had higher exam scores.
Chang's family reported the case to the police on July 25.
According to Chang's father, Guo's family had offered financial compensation or help finding Chang a job in the People's Liberation Army, but these offers were rejected because all Chang wanted was to go to university.
"I have worked part-time in a food factory since July 13, from 7 am to 7 pm, with only a half-hour break for lunch," said Chang.
"Every day I got 73 yuan ($11), but after July 23, I was in a bad mood and stopped working. If I could be enrolled and study tuition-free, it would be less of a financial burden on my parents. I have worked so hard to earn this. I cannot accept not going."
Local police said on Aug 3 that Guo has been detained for investigation. Guo's father told the local media that he and his wife regretted putting too much pressure on their son.
"He was too scared to tell us the truth. I heard from his classmate," said Guo's father. "My 18-year-old son hasn't slept for four days and has lost weight rapidly. He is very sorry. My son is not the only one that should be blamed. It is our fault. We didn't educate him well enough."
Chang said he did not want his classmate to be punished.
"I just want to be enrolled at Shaanxi Normal University. I don't want him to be punished. He is just a student," he said.
It is unknown if Chang will be allowed to submit a second application to the university.
