Why A Chinese Girl's Selection In Global Math Contest Sparked Debate

Jiang Ping, a 17-year-old Chinese girl, has been selected as a finalist for an international mathematics competition. The fashion design student ranked 12th among 801 finalists in the 2024 Alibaba Global Mathematics Competition, becoming the only female in the top 30 on the list. The girl, a student at Jiangsu Lianshui School, is the first secondary vocational school student to enter the finals since the competition was launched in 2018. She has outperformed contestants coming from some of the world's top schools including Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford University. The final competition is on June 22.

Selection Causes Debate

While Jiang Ping's achievement has shattered stereotypes about lesser-known educational institutions, her selection as a finalist has stirred a debate, according to the Beijing-based news platform CGTN. According to the outlet, secondary vocational schools in China are usually attended by middle school graduates with lower scores on the high school enrollment examination.

Therefore, Ping's selection has garnered nationwide attention as she scored better than many students from top-ranked institutes worldwide. Some have pointed out how the Chinese education system could create more opportunities for students who excel in a particular subject instead of dwelling on their scores in examinations. 

Meanwhile, many critics also questioned her score due to the exam's open-book system in the preliminary. Participants are allowed to use programming software to answer questions. Now the public is anxious to know how she does on the final exam. The final is a closed-book exam, and no reference material or computing software is allowed.

While many questioned why a gifted student like Ping chose to study at a secondary vocational educational institute, Wang Wenlin, Party secretary of the Jiangsu Lianshui Secondary Vocational School said that she selected the school because she was interested in its fashion design major, and her elder sister and two best friends also study at the school.

Wang Runqiu, a math teacher at the vocational school, has been Ping's tutor. Runqui graduated from Jiangsu University in 2020 with a master's degree in mathematics, and he is also a finalist in the competition, ranking 125th. According to Runqui, he himself approached and asked to tutor her after noticing her keen interest in solving complex problems.

Ping would ask Runqui for help since learning advanced math herself was difficult at first. "I have encountered many setbacks in the process of learning math, and if I had met a guide, maybe my life would have been different. So, I want to do everything I can to help my students and let them know that there are other possibilities in the future," said Runqui.

Ping is poised to prove all the critics wrong as she appears for the finale on June 22. "Math feels like a friend to me. Solving problems brings immense joy, and failure is equally painful," she says. Her tutor said, "The final is much more difficult than the preliminary. I hope she can enjoy the competition and [do] her best."