Flushed with anger: school in China enforces ‘toilet pass’ to limit loo trips for students, provoking outrage and ridicule on social media
- School chiefs say move aimed to prevent ‘group’ bathroom visits, especially at evening self-study sessions
- Local education authority launches investigation as school withdraws ‘pass’ rule after online criticism
A secondary school in China has demanded its students show a “toilet pass” for using bathrooms on campus, sparking a flush of anger – mixed with a splash of humour.
A video clip of the paper pass, stamped with the official seal of Yiwen School in Yangjiang city in southeast China’s Guangdong province, went viral after it was posted online.
A total of 5 million people have viewed the video on Douyin – the mainland version of TikTok.
A member of staff at the school said they had implemented the policy in an effort to limit the number of students leaving class at the same time and to prevent entire groups from skipping classes, especially evening self-study sessions.
The policy was stopped on September 26, staff said, and the local education authority was investigating.
Online observers were incensed on behalf of the students, believing that the school’s policy violated their rights.
