Fudan Professor Cleared After Bullying Dispute Sparks Debate on Parent Complaints

Currently making the rounds on Chinese social media is a controversy involving Fudan University associate professor Shen Yifei, who found herself at the center of a prolonged dispute with the mother of a primary school student over alleged bullying claims.

The incident began during a livestream counseling session, when the mother insisted that her son had been bullied at school.

Shen asked her to provide the most serious examples supporting that claim.

The mother cited two incidents: first, her son had once shared snacks with a classmate, but the gesture was not reciprocated when the classmate later had snacks of his own. Second, the boy had a quarrel with another child that escalated into a minor scuffle.

After several exchanges, Shen concluded that the incidents did not constitute bullying, arguing that they reflected ordinary conflicts between children rather than behavior meeting the legal definition of school bullying.

Instead, she advised the mother to move away from what she described as an extreme victim mentality and to focus more on helping her child develop social and interpersonal skills, rather than intervening excessively in every conflict.

The assessment infuriated the mother. Accusing Shen of violating her son's privacy, she filed complaints against the professor with multiple departments at Fudan University, alleging that Shen had "failed to fulfill her professional responsibilities" and had "seriously misled parents."

The pressure soon shifted onto Shen herself. While cooperating with the university's investigation, she reportedly had to repeatedly submit written accounts of the incident, significantly disrupting her normal work.

Following an investigation, however, the university chose not to penalize the professor simply to avoid controversy. Instead, it cleared Shen of any wrongdoing – a decision that won broad support online.

Yet Shen was hardly the only target. According to reports, the mother had also filed complaints against the child's primary school teachers over the previous two months.

In other words, anyone who rejected the mother's bullying narrative risked becoming the subject of a complaint.

The case has reignited wider concerns over the growing number of complaints lodged against teachers, many of which are later found to be groundless.

According to China Comment, a magazine published by Xinhua News Agency, one grassroots education bureau in southwest China received 128 complaints against teachers between January and August 2024, but only seven were ultimately verified as valid.

Handling large volumes of unfounded complaints consumes enormous time and energy, while also dampening morale among educators.

Despite the controversy, Shen refused to delete the livestream recording of the session. She argued that the more than 1,000 comments beneath the video reflected the frustrations of frontline teachers, many of whom described suffering insomnia and emotional stress because of unreasonable complaints. Some admitted they had begun turning a blind eye to student misconduct simply to avoid disputes with parents.

As educator Tang Yong wrote in an article published by China Teachers Daily on May 21, reckless and baseless accusations are gradually eroding the educational environment itself.

Tang warned that when false allegations and unreasonable complaints can be filed casually and without consequence, the damage extends beyond individual teachers. In the long run, it undermines the broader public interest by discouraging educators, weakening school authority, and ultimately harming students themselves.

When complaints are clearly frivolous or unsupported, institutions handling them should take a firm and transparent stance – not merely to protect innocent teachers, but to preserve trust in the educational system as a whole.