Chinese Teacher in His 20s Dies in Office Allegedly Due to Stress from Managing 400 Students, Constant OT

A male teacher in his 20s from central China tragically passed away in his office, allegedly due to the intense stress of managing 400 students and working long hours of overtime.

The man, known only by his surname Li, had been working for 5 years at a tutoring and education company in Wuhan that operates an online platform offering English and Mathematics courses to primary and secondary school students.

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He died from sudden cardiac arrest

According to the South China Morning Post, the online platform Li worked for reportedly has over 160 million users, based on information from online sources.

Mainland media reported that Li had been working several days of overtime to complete his tasks ahead of an upcoming holiday. On April 22, he went to the office and worked late into the night.

When his fiancée couldn’t reach him, she contacted the police.

The following morning, a janitor found Li unresponsive in the office, and he was later confirmed to have died from sudden cardiac arrest. He planned to get married on May 2.

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The company claimed that no overtime was scheduled for Li

The local labour authority stated that Li’s family and the company are in the process of completing paperwork to officially recognise his death as work-related.

On April 25, the company expressed its condolences and promised to assist Li’s family. The statement emphasised that no overtime had been scheduled for Li’s team, as the day coincided with a company-wide holiday.

The company also commended Li’s work performance and requested that the public respect his family’s privacy during this difficult time.

Mainland media previously reported widespread overtime at the company. Former employees revealed that one teacher managed 400 students, handled numerous parental inquiries, and often worked over six extra hours a day.

One former worker shared that the constant overtime led to anxiety, prompting her to quit late last year. Another resigned the day after hearing about Li’s death.

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