Parents would go to the ends of the earth just to help their children but this mother went a little too far when she helped with her daughter’s research thesis so that she could get into a dental school in South Korea.
According to Channel News Asia, a university professor from Seoul, South Korea had allegedly forced her students to write her daughter’s thesis so that she could gain entry into an elite dental school, revealed a government report on Tuesday (Mar 26). This is the latest scandal to hit South Korea’s hyper-competitive education system.
The mother, who is a professor at Seoul’s Sungkyunkwan University had requested her graduate students to conduct a three-month experiment and even asked them to fabricate the results. After that, her daughter compiled the findings and published them in an academic journal using her own name.
For illustration purposes only | Source: The University of Maine
The daughter applied to Seoul National University’s dental school by using the thesis from the study and managed to earn admission last year. FYI, the university is one of the top institutions in the country!
Upon realising her actions, the Education Ministry is now planning to expel the professor from the university, an official told AFP.
For illustration purposes only | Source: Alberton Record
From the investigation, it was learned that the professor even instructed one of her students to do 54 hours of volunteer work, by converting a book into braille in her daughter’s name. The professor paid 500,000 won (approximately RM 1,700) to the student for completing the task.
In addition, the professor’s daughter also managed to win several academic awards for posters and research reports that were actually completed by her mother’s students.
In South Korea, the education system there is super competitive and getting good grades in your academics is really important in defining your adult life, even influencing your marriage prospects. Parents will try anything to send their kids to prestigious schools, even something illegal. Graduate students are also frequently exploited, with some of those include working extremely long hours and running errands such as laundry for their professors.
Hopefully, the mother has learned her lesson after this scandal!
What you have to say about the mother’s actions? Let us know in the comments section below!
Also read: Chinese Professor Judges Female Students Based On “Breasts, Face, Ass and Legs”
