Education ministry in China called out for using a Huawei ad in exams for primary school children
The topic of advertising on school campuses in China have been ignited again after students were asked to watch a video about Huawei mobile phones.
According to The South China Morning Post, one of the questions was: “What is Huawei’s competitive advantage?
Primary Five pupils at 27 primary schools in the district of Jianxi in Luoyang, Henan province were asked to watch a video twice before answering four multiple-choice questions in an exam.
According to The South China Morning Post, one of the questions was: “What is Huawei’s competitive advantage? A. quality. B. design. C. functionality.”
This was the first time the bureau had included an audiovisual assessment in its language paper for Primary Four and Five pupils, which was aimed at sharpening their listening, speaking, reading and writing skills.
Gao Wuqiang, an official of the district education bureau, said the clip was produced by a television channel to introduce the product and did not advertise Huawei. He said he watched the three-minute video and thought the clip’s high resolution, standard accent, and subtitles made it the perfect exam material.
“Teaching materials have remained unchanged for years and students got bored,” Gao said. “Students’ parents all use Huawei mobiles. I hope the exam could be closer to students’ lives.”
A photo of an exam paper for Primary Five pupils made rounds on Chinese microblogging platform Weibo was shared 426 times and drew 328 comments, with one user calling the education authority “thick-skinned and shameless”, an opinion that was “liked” 912 times.
In January, two primary schools in Shandong and Hebei province found to have distributed to pupils certificates printed with advertisements for spectacles. One school was shut down and the principal of the other school was sacked.