Headteacher suspended after forcing students to sit exam in playground surrounded by toxic smog

It’s usually the students who get sent home from school for bad behaviour.

But it was the headmaster who received a suspension from a school in China, after more than 400 students were forced to take an exam in an outside playground surrounded by toxic pollution.

China is currently in the midst of its worst ‘airpocalypse’ of this year, with smog readings registering more than 30 times above safe limits – causing a slew of schools to shut their doors.

But that certainly wasn’t the case at the Number One Middle School in Linzhou, Central Henan Province, where a full day of outdoor exams were reportedly held on Monday.

In a series of photos posted online, students are seen peering closely at their exam papers as they desperately attempt to read the all important questions through the smog.

The school headmaster, named locally as Feng Jisheng, argued that the maths, English, PE and Chinese exams were first arranged when pollution levels were considerably lower.

However, China Youth News now reports that the headteacher has been suspended.

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They wrote: ‘The education and sports bureau in Linzhou city decided to…remove Feng Jisheng from his post as schoolmaster.

‘An investigation will be launched into the incident. The bureau also demands all daycare centers, primary and middle schools to learn from this, reflect deeply to ensure the safety of students.’