Alli Mengmeng's family is poor, and her clothes are all worn by her sister who works outside. Image source: Urban Express
565 points, exceeding the first-class score line for science students in Henan by 13 points, yet she still hasn't been admitted to any university. The county admissions office told her: "Your application wasn't submitted!"
The Admissions Office of Henan Province: Work errors will be resolved within our internal system. Alli Mengmeng has the right to sue the Kaifeng County Admissions Office. Video: A female student failed the college entrance examination due to the negligence of the admissions office staff in submitting her application. Source: Shandong TV's Morning News
On the afternoon of August 12, a post titled "Kaifeng County Admissions Office Ruined My University Dream" appeared on the "Henan" section of Tieba. The poster said that her name is Alli Mengmeng, a student at Kaifeng No.4 Middle School in Kaifeng County, Henan Province. She scored 565 points in this year's college entrance examination, but on the day she filled out her application, the staff of the Kaifeng County Admissions Office locked her application form in a drawer and forgot to submit it, resulting in her inability to attend any university, shattering the dreams of her entire family.
What exactly happened? Chengdu Business Daily reporters went to the scene of the incident for an investigation.
The Broken University Dream
It turns out that the application was never submitted.
At 8 pm on the 16th, more than fifty miles away from Chenliu Town in Kaifeng County, in Chuani Li Zhai Village, the 21-year-old girl Alli Mengmeng stood beside the grayish wall of her house, flipping the spatula, gritting her teeth, trying hard not to cry. This year, she scored 565 points in the college entrance examination, exceeding the first-class score line for science students in Henan by 13 points, ranking among the top students in her school. However, she still hasn't received her admission notice.
In 2010, Henan Province implemented online registration and online filling of college applications for the first time. On June 25, the exam scores were announced. From June 30 to July 4, students filled out their undergraduate application forms online. On June 30, Alli Mengmeng went to the village internet cafe and filled out her first and second batch undergraduate application forms. Her first choice for the first batch was Zhengzhou University, and her first choice for the second batch was Henan University of Economics and Law. Due to her lack of experience with the internet, her application form was not successfully submitted. Her head teacher Zhang Changzhi advised her to go to the county admissions office the next day to complete the submission procedures.
The next day, Alli Mengmeng went to the county admissions office and found several classmates doing the same thing. After filling out the necessary forms and receiving her application form, she felt confident and returned home.
The admissions process for ordinary colleges and universities in Henan Province began on July 8 and ended on August 12 for the undergraduate batches. In July, Alli Mengmeng checked online but did not find her admission notice. In August, her classmates with lower scores had already received their second-batch admission notices, but hers still hadn't arrived. Teacher Zhang Changzhi stated that Alli Mengmeng's score didn't reach Zhengzhou University's admission line, but she exceeded Henan University of Economics and Law's second-batch line by over 20 points, so she should definitely have been admitted. Under the teacher's suggestion, Alli Mengmeng went to the Kaifeng County Admissions Office to inquire about the situation. Director Wang Fujing of the admissions office checked in the computer room and then suddenly told her: "Your application wasn't submitted! The provincial admissions office doesn't have your application!"
Work Error
The microcomputer operator locked the application form and forgot it.
Upon hearing that her application wasn't submitted, Alli Mengmeng was stunned. In the following days, she visited the county admissions office multiple times daily, only to hear the same response: Your application wasn't submitted!
Her father, Li Guoxin, and relatives told Chengdu Business Daily reporters that they eventually learned through connections that microcomputer operator Li Wenyi had locked Alli Mengmeng's application form in a drawer and forgotten it! The county admissions office attributed this to a work error by Li Wenyi, who was a new employee, and his father was ill at the time.
On the morning of August 17, a deputy director surnamed Zhang from the Kaifeng County Education and Sports Bureau Admissions Office stated that Alli Mengmeng's application wasn't submitted but rather not uploaded. He said that a previous deputy director named Sun Honggang (phonetic) had specifically instructed that Alli Mengmeng scored high, and Li Wenyi took it seriously, locking her application form separately in a drawer, which he forgot in his nervousness. Although the application was submitted online, it wasn't uploaded to the provincial admissions office's system from the county admissions office. Applications for all other students were uploaded, except for Alli Mengmeng's.
Another staff member from the Kaifeng County Admissions Office told Chengdu Business Daily reporters that on the morning of the 17th, he followed Director Wang Fujing to a meeting in the city and wouldn't return until 3 PM.
Yesterday afternoon, Chengdu Business Daily reporters waited until 5 PM but never saw Wang Fujing or Li Wenyi. Around 5 PM, Chengdu Business Daily reporters called Wang Fujing's mobile phone, and he said Alli Mengmeng's case had been reported to the provincial admissions office, "We've been following up urgently, we're also anxious, but there's still no news."
Dialogue with Alli Mengmeng
Crying secretly, dreaming of attending university
Chengdu Business Daily: I actually saw your story online. Was it you who posted it?
Alli Mengmeng: It was my aunt from my fourth uncle's family who helped me post it. I rarely use the internet, and I don't even know how to post. The school is closed (closed management), staying there for three or four weeks without ever going to an internet cafe. Later, when I needed to register online, check school information, and fill out applications, I went a few times. Some classmates often go to internet cafes and play QQ, but I don't know how to play. A classmate gave me a QQ number, and I gave it to my younger brother.
Chengdu Business Daily: Looking at your application form, most of the schools you applied to are within Henan Province. Did you have any considerations?
Alli Mengmeng: Schools outside the province are far, and some have higher tuition fees. Our family's economic condition isn't good, and I don't want to spend too much money from home.
Chengdu Business Daily: Have your classmates and close friends been admitted? What do they think about your situation?
Alli Mengmeng: A few classmates I get along well with in the class scored lower than me this year, but they have already received admission notices from second- and third-batch universities. Some classmates have even been admitted to junior colleges. Only I haven't received anything. They advise me to relax and not be too sad, and that this matter can't just be let go (Henan dialect, meaning it can't be left unresolved).
Chengdu Business Daily: Your father says this incident has greatly affected you.
Alli Mengmeng: I generally don't show my emotions in front of others; I cry secretly at home. When my parents see me crying, they cry too. Seeing them cry, I almost can't bear it.
Chengdu Business Daily: Can you retake a year?
Alli Mengmeng: I absolutely don't want to retake a year. I don't even dare to think about it. I've lost the motivation. The day before the college entrance examination, I had already sold all my textbooks and review materials.
Chengdu Business Daily: What are your plans moving forward?
Alli Mengmeng: I don't know, I'm very annoyed, very confused, very sad, I just want to attend university, I dream of it every night.
Struggling Student
Three years of living expenses entirely borne by her working sister
Leaders from the Kaifeng County Admissions Office started persuading Li Guoxin: "Why not let Alli Mengmeng retake a year?" "Why should Alli Mengmeng retake a year?!" Li Guoxin choked up.
Alli Mengmeng was originally a retake student. In the 2009 college entrance examination, she scored 490 points, exceeding the third-batch line by 14 points, fully capable of attending a third-batch institution, but she refused to apply. In 2010, during her retake year, she put forth all her effort. Born in 1989, she already appears older than her peers.
Liu Zheng, Alli Mengmeng's classmate, said that Alli Mengmeng was one of the top students in the review-focused class, studying very diligently. She studied until 11 PM and continued learning with a flashlight in her dormitory. "Alli Mengmeng's family economic conditions aren't good. For her three meals a day, she only eats vegetables for one meal, and the rest are pancakes. She hasn't bought new clothes; her clothes are all given to her by her sister after she wears them out."
"Alli Mengmeng did well this year, and who can guarantee she'll achieve such a score if she retakes another year? Now she has suffered a great blow, her mood is very low, and can her mindset be adjusted?" Li Guoxin said.
As he spoke, Li Guoxin shed tears. This 44-year-old man looked as old as 60. Three years ago, he broke his leg and, due to lack of funds, couldn't undergo surgery again, leaving steel plates and screws in his leg. He limps, and when his leg pain becomes unbearable, he has to use crutches. Even so, he traveled back and forth from Chuanli Zhai Village to Kaifeng County many times.
Villagers in Chuanli Zhai said that Li Guoxin's family was the poorest in the village. There was no courtyard wall, only three old houses from over 20 years ago.
On the evening of August 16, Chengdu Business Daily reporters saw at Li Guoxin's home that the entire family lived in one hall room, which served as both a bedroom, kitchen, and grain storage. Cooking utensils, grains, beds, and miscellaneous items were all squeezed together. Walls, objects, and clothes were old, with little bright color, and the household was so simple that they didn't even have a television. By 8 PM, Alli Mengmeng hadn't eaten dinner and had no appetite. Her expression was half resentment and half sorrow.
Due to the persistent pain in Li Guoxin's leg, he hasn't been able to do heavy work for three years. His younger sister Li Mengke originally had excellent academic performance but dropped out of school after junior high school to work outside. For three years, all of Alli Mengmeng's tuition fees and living expenses were accumulated penny by penny by her 18-year-old sister working outside. Her younger brother Li Feiyang had also dropped out of school and recently started working outside.
Villagers all felt sorry for Alli Mengmeng: "In our village, for many years, there has only been one student scoring above the first-batch line, and now she can't attend university?!"
No Resolution
Henan Provincial Admissions Office Response: This matter will not be handled
Under Li Guoxin's strong request, relevant leaders from the Kaifeng County Admissions Office and the principal of the Political and Educational Affairs Department of Kaifeng No.4 Middle School, Zhang Fa, accompanied Li Guoxin to visit the Henan Provincial Admissions Office once.
On the 16th, Zhang Fa told Chengdu Business Daily that this trip to the provincial admissions office was over ten days ago. They went to the provincial admissions office petition office where a staff member surnamed Zhang informed them that such an incident was the first in Henan Province. The staff asked Li Guoxin to return home to handle procedures, write an application, stamp it at the Kaifeng City Admissions Office, and submit it. They would see if they could give Alli Mengmeng special treatment to attend a second-batch university within the province.
Li Guoxin thought there was hope and followed the instructions. After submitting the application, there was no further response. He repeatedly ran to the county admissions office, only to be told: "There's no news." All the leaders uniformly told him: "The possibility is slim."
This slim possibility kept giving hope to both Li Guoxin and Alli Mengmeng. Each time contacting the county admissions office, relevant leaders would tell Chengdu Business Daily reporters that they were continuously pursuing the matter, waiting for news, and that the leadership of the provincial admissions office was still studying the issue.
Time dragged on day by day.
At 5 PM on August 17, Chengdu Business Daily reporters called the petition department of the Henan Provincial Admissions Office. A staff member named Li Zhengyu (phonetic) informed the reporter after consulting relevant leaders that according to the written materials submitted by the Kaifeng County Admissions Office and the Kaifeng City Admissions Office, candidate Alli Mengmeng from Kaifeng No.4 Middle School failed to successfully submit her application herself and proceeded to the Kaifeng County Admissions Office to handle the unified submission procedure. Indeed, due to a work error by the microcomputer operator at the county admissions office, Alli Mengmeng's application was ultimately not submitted. After deliberation by relevant leaders of the Henan Provincial Admissions Office, it was decided that this matter would not be handled.
"If we give Alli Mengmeng special treatment, it would be unfair to other candidates. We understand the feelings of the parents, but policies are policies, and principles are principles. As for the work error by the Kaifeng County Admissions Office, it will be resolved internally within our system. How it will be handled is another matter. Alli Mengmeng has the right to sue the Kaifeng County Admissions Office. Besides, she is a retake student; why wasn't she more careful when filling out her application? If she had been cautious, would this problem have occurred?" Li Zhengyu said.
A Female Student Failed the College Entrance Examination Due to the Negligence of the Admissions Office Staff in Submitting Her Application. Source: Shandong TV's Morning News Play Video