She was celebrated as a “genius” for her score in a national maths competition. Now, this 17-year-old girl from China is accused of cheating.

Jiang Ping, who gained attention for her stellar performance had cheated, competition organisers revealed, putting an end to months of speculation over her results.

Introduced in 2018 by Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, this free online competition is available to maths enthusiasts worldwide, although Chinese maths majors generally claim the top ranks. This year, the leading 85 participants will receive prizes from $2,000 to $30,000.

Who is the 17-year-old girl?

Jiang Ping, a 17-year-old girl from a poor village in Jiangsu province in eastern China, ranked 12th out of 802 shortlisted contestants in the first round of the Alibaba Global Mathematics Competition.

This achievement, announced on June 13 by DAMO Academy, the competition’s organiser, set her apart, as most top scorers came from prestigious institutions like Harvard, Oxford, and MIT.

Jiang became the first finalist in the competition’s history, which began in 2018, to come from a lowly vocational school, according to Chinese media. Most of the 800 finalists are usually from elite universities, making her success an exception. Her high ranking made her an overnight sensation, with media and social platforms calling her a “prodigy.”

In China’s famously competitive education system, academic excellence is highly praised, and Jiang’s success inspired many who saw it as evidence that students from vocational schools can also achieve academic distinction.

However, scepticism about her maths abilities emerged online.

The rise of a maths ‘genius’

The annual mathematics competition, organised by DAMO Academy, is open to contestants from institutions around the globe.

This year, Jiang, a student at Jiangsu Lianshui Secondary Vocational School, surpassed other finalists from some of the world’s most renowned institutions.

Notably, she chose the vocational school due to her interest in fashion design and because her sister and friends were enrolled there, according to local media.

Jiang’s impressive performance and unique educational background quickly captured nationwide attention. Her story was featured in a video by DAMO Academy, and she was interviewed by news outlets across China.

“Learning maths is bumpy, but every time I solve the problems, I feel quite happy,” she told the state-run People’s Daily.

“No matter what the future holds, I will keep learning.”

Jiang’s teacher, Wang Runqiu, also gained attention, celebrated as an educator who recognised and nurtured her passion for maths. He described her as a focused student who had taught herself advanced mathematics.

He said, “I have encountered many setbacks in the process of learning maths.”

“So, I want to do everything I can to help my students and let them know that there are other possibilities in the future.”

Alongside praise for Jiang and her teacher, her story sparked debate about whether China’s education system sufficiently supports gifted students in less traditional academic tracks – especially those whose potential might otherwise go unrecognised.

So, what happened?

Last Sunday, competition organisers revealed that Jiang had broken competition rules in the preliminary round by taking help from her teacher, who was also participating as a contestant, South China Morning Post reported.

“This has exposed issues such as inadequacies in the competition format and a lack of rigour in supervision. We sincerely apologise,” the organisers said in a statement.

When the final results were announced on Sunday, neither Jiang nor her teacher was among the 86 winners.

In a joint letter to the organising committee, 39 other finalists claimed that Jiang “made several apparent writing mistakes” while solving a problem on a blackboard in a DAMO Academy documentary video, according to the report.

“She seemed unfamiliar with these mathematical expressions and symbols,” the contestants alleged, suggesting that her teacher had helped her.

While the preliminary round allowed contestants to use programming software, the final round was a closed-book exam. Initially due in August, the final results were postponed for several months, finally being released on Sunday, with Jiang absent from the list of winners.

Jiang’s school also confirmed on Sunday that her teacher Wang had indeed assisted her. Wang was issued a warning and disqualified from teachers’ awards for the year. The school also requested leniency for Jiang and called for the need for support, BBC reported.

Following the revelations, Jiang and her teacher faced strong criticism, yet many social media users defended her, arguing that the primary responsibility lay with her school and teacher.

“Jiang Ping is not innocent, that’s without question. But who are the worst parties in this?” a Weibo post read. “The adults brought this child along to do a bad deed, and let her suffer all the consequences.”

“Even if the whole thing was faked, Jiang Ping was not the mastermind behind it,” another user wrote. “She should not be burned at the stake.”