Two more primary school students won awards for their research on drinking tea to fight cancer, one in the third and one in the fifth grade! Are there more medical prodigies?

Recently, a sixth-grade primary school student in Kunming, Yunnan Province, participated in the 34th National Youth Science and Technology Innovation Competition with the project "Research on the Function and Mechanism of C10orf67 in the Development of Colorectal Cancer", and won a prize, which attracted social attention.

On the evening of the 15th, the Office of the Organizing Committee of the 34th Yunnan Youth Science and Technology Innovation Competition issued a report on the investigation and handling results of the "primary school student research paper on cancer". The expert group determined that the professional level of the project research report exceeded the author's cognitive level and writing ability, and the project research report could not have been written independently by the author himself. Based on the recommendation of the jury, the competition organizing committee decided to revoke the first prize of the project (primary school group) and take back the medal and certificate. The Secretariat of the National Youth Science and Technology Innovation Competition Organizing Committee stated on its official website on the 15th that it has set up a special investigation team to conduct verification. If any violations of the competition rules are found, they will be dealt with seriously in accordance with the regulations.

Primary school students won awards for their gene research, and their parents’ research direction is almost exactly the same as the project they entered

The official website of the National Youth Science and Technology Innovation Competition shows that the primary school student who attracted attention this time is in the sixth grade of a primary school in Kunming. The introduction of the project stated: Taking advantage of the similarities between plateau adaptation and tumor cell adaptation, the project used genetics to compare and analyze the genomes and transcriptomes of plateau domestic mammals and corresponding plain species, discovered the key mutant gene C10orf67, and constructed C10orf67 gene knockout mice...

A researcher in the field of biology in Yunnan told reporters that the elementary school student's project required at least a master's degree or above to operate independently. "Obviously, a sixth-grade student cannot complete it alone."

The Kunming Institute of Zoology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences issued a statement on July 13 saying that the award-winning student is the son of a researcher at the institute. The reporter checked the official website of the Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences and found that the parent's research direction was almost exactly the same as the competition project.

“Child prodigies” winning awards is not an isolated case. How are these awards determined?

The reporter checked the list of winners of the National Youth Science and Technology Innovation Competition over the years and found that there are quite a few similar "high-end" research projects for primary and secondary school students.

For example, two primary school students won the third prize in the primary school group with their project "Experimental Research on the Anti-tumor Effect of Tea Polyphenols". The project introduction states that EGCG, the main component of tea polyphenols in green tea extract, was used as a test drug to study its in vivo efficacy in a nude mouse liver tumor disease model. According to information, the two participating students were in the third and fifth grade of elementary school respectively.

"It would take several years to achieve the results on mice," a researcher from a research institute in Kunming told reporters.

"The competition has changed." Huang, a researcher working at a subordinate institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Kunming, told reporters that a friend had asked him to help his child participate in this competition. He helped the child design a project that was in line with his knowledge and ability level. Unexpectedly, the class teacher said "too low" after seeing it.

"My homeroom teacher showed me the previous award-winning projects, and I was shocked to find that many of the projects required at least a master's or doctoral degree," Huang said.

Mr. Cui, a teacher in Jianshui County, Yunnan Province, who has led students to participate in competitions for many years, told reporters that every year after the list of winners is announced, he would sigh at the high level of some of the winning works. “For example, there are elementary school students studying very complex navigation systems. I believe that this cannot be accomplished without the strong involvement of professionals.”

The reporter checked the competition judging rules and found that the awards will be judged by a jury composed of subject experts from universities and research institutes across the country organized by the competition organizing committee. The judging rules emphasize that contestants must select their own topics, design and research, produce and write their own works, and clearly require that the creative contributions in the design must be conceived and completed by the contestants themselves.

In order to prevent fraud, the competition not only requires participating students to take photos and keep records when working on their projects, but also sets up a defense session at all levels of competition. "The defense was held in a closed venue. No one except experts and participating students was allowed to enter," Cui said.

The reporter's investigation found that most of the review experts invited by the Yunnan Provincial Science and Technology Association are senior professors and researchers from universities and research institutes. A researcher in Yunnan province told reporters that judging from the professional background and qualifications of the judging experts, it should be very easy to tell whether the contestants have cheated, conducted independent research or relied on the power of others.

As to why the expert judges failed to discover that some entries were clearly beyond the knowledge and ability of primary and secondary school students, the organizers of the competition did not give a direct answer, only saying "we also encourage universities and research institutes to support young people. Holding hands will inspire young people."

Why are parents keen to let their children participate in competitions?

Why are many parents keen to help their children participate in the National Youth Science and Technology Innovation Competition, and even use various resources to win awards?

The reporter's investigation found that before the Ministry of Education cancelled the extra points for various competitions in the college entrance examination, students who won awards in the National Olympiad for Middle School Students and some science and technology competitions could get extra points in the college entrance examination. Compared with fiercely competitive academic competitions, science and technology innovation competitions are relatively less difficult.

Mr. Wang, a teacher at a middle school in Kunming, told reporters that the Ministry of Education has completely canceled all types of extra points for college entrance examinations due to competitions, and independent enrollment in colleges and universities has also been canceled this year. "Even if you can't get extra points directly or participate in independent enrollment, it will look better if you write your award-winning experience into your file. In addition, many students are studying abroad now, and foreign schools pay special attention to quality education. These awards can be a good addition to your resume when applying."

"If children have creative ideas, we should encourage them vigorously and create conditions to maintain their interest in science," said Lan Wenhua, an associate researcher at the Yunnan Academy of Social Sciences. "But if they are trying to get extra points for further studies or to pave a fast track, or even take advantage of loopholes in the rules to challenge the bottom line of social integrity, we should seriously reflect on the education evaluation mechanism."

Xiong Bingqi, deputy director of the 21st Century Education Research Institute, said that the organizers of the National Youth Science and Technology Innovation Competition must reflect on the award criteria and methods. Competitions should focus on examining students’ participation in innovative activities, and guide students to pay attention to the participation process and experience, rather than just looking at the “results” submitted by students.

Chu Zhaohui, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Educational Sciences, believes that the abstention system should be improved to enhance the professional review and screening capabilities of the evaluation committee. In addition, there are more detailed regulations on whether the participating projects are participating research, independent research, and standardized signatures.

The organizing committee of the National Youth Science and Technology Innovation Competition said in a statement on the 15th that it will take this opportunity to further improve the competition's judging rules and procedures, strengthen the supervision mechanism, and better guide and regulate young people's participation in science and technology innovation practice activities.