(Ecns.cn)--At Qiqihar University, in the country's northeasternmost province Heilongjiang, Li Jing'e, a student from south China's Shandong Province, now faces trouble getting her degree. In 2005, she lent her name to her classmate Cheng Yongzhen so that she could go to college, making it impossible for herself to register in the country's Ministry of Education system.
How was a student able to so easily go to college under a classmate's name and college entrance exam scores without any checks?
Applying for colleges under Li's name
In 2005, disappointed with her college entrance exam scores, Li Jing'e decided to take a shot the following year and temporarily gave up applying to any colleges. Her classmate Cheng Yongzhen, though she got much lower scores, decided to apply to as many colleges as possible.
When Cheng noticed that Li had given up her scores, she used Li's name, applying to and later enrolling at Guizhou Vocational and Technical College of Electricity under the name of Li Jing'e.
Li was informed of the issue and begged by Cheng to allow the deceit to continue. "It was too harsh to stop her from going to college. I didn't expect any future influences on myself," Li told the China Youth Daily.
With Li's tacit permission, Cheng registered at her college, with Li's name.
When asked if she had any worries about being caught by the university, in an article published Monday, Cheng said she didn't even have a second thought.
"If I was caught, I would just go back home. I wouldn't lose anything," Cheng replied.
Without any checks on students' IDs, Guizhou Vocational and Technical College of Electricity enrolls students according to their admission notices.
"The students just have to give us their ID numbers. It's impossible for us check students with their ID cards and compare them with pictures. We can't treat them as criminals," a university staff member was quoted as saying in the China Youth Daily on July 4.
Troubles come when Li graduates
After studying for another two years to re-sit for the annual college entrance examination, Li finally got accepted by Qiqihar University, and Cheng, with Li's name on her diploma, graduated from university one year later.
Earlier this year, when Li was about to graduate, she was informed by school authorities about their troubles registering her on the Ministry of Education's system, where her diploma was issued. According to rules made by the Ministry of Education, repeated registrations in four years by the same student are not allowed.
Li Jing'e then contacted Cheng, and the latter agreed to withdraw her academic information from her university.
After Cheng consulted her former university, Guizhou Vocational and Technical College of Electricity, the two girls then went together to withdraw Cheng's academic information in Ministry of Education's system, yet they were rejected by the university.
The official answer for the rejection from Guizhou Vocational and Technical College of Electricity was that, they couldn't allow such an incident to happen without a written document from the two girls' hometown authority.
In their hometown in Shandong Province, the two girls were also rejected, with the claim that "it was the school's business."
A staff member at the Guizhou Vocational and Technical College of Electricity told the China Youth Daily: "It's a tough issue. If they were to issue a written document to help the two girls, it means that they admit such illegal cheating does happen, and someone in the government has to take responsibility. No one wants to."
Local public security officials later helped to certify the two girls. According to Li's call to the newspaper on Monday, Cheng's diploma had been revoked and Li got her diploma.
"A weak sense of the rule of law helped to encourage such an incident," said Xu Jingcun, a law professor from the Southwest University of Political Science and Law.
Experts also believe that a lack of honesty and integrity in the society has fueled such problems, according to China Youth Daily.
