Peking University on Saturday confirmed academic misconduct by Zhai Tianlin, a Chinese celebrity recently doubted online over his academic achievements, according to a statement.
Zhai had highlighted his master's and doctoral degrees from Beijing Film Academy, and his admittance as a post-doctorate student by Guanghua School of Management, Peking University on China's micro-blogging site Weibo.
It led to a number of people searching online for his previous written pieces, fueling online suspicion over his academic misconduct.
In the statement, Peking University approved the management school's decision to expel Zhai, and suspended his supervisor's rights to further enroll post-doctorate students.
The university has started an investigation on Zhai's enrollment since Feb. 8 and found the supervisor, the interview panel and the school have not followed strict standards during the interview and enrollment, nor done sufficient substantive document review, said the announcement.
Commenting on the suspected academic misconduct by Zhai, a Ministry of Education spokesperson on Friday said no academic misconduct would be tolerated and stressed that there is no place for actions of defying academic rules and undermining educational equity.
In an apology letter posted online, Zhai said he was deeply sorry to the schools, teachers and the public for being dishonest.
