Teacher aided math whiz during contest, probe finds

A student at a vocational school who had been recognized for her exceptional math skills after outperforming prestigious university graduates in the preliminary round of a high-stakes competition was found to have been assisted by her teacher during the exam.

In a terse statement released on Sunday, the organizing committee of the Alibaba Global Mathematics Competition, which offers a $30,000 prize for gold medal winners, announced that fashion design major Jiang Ping, 17, had received help from her teacher, Wang Runqiu, during the preliminary round.

Wang and Jiang had advanced to the competition's final round together. The pair, from Lianshui Secondary Vocational School in Jiangsu province, had breached a rule prohibiting discussions with other test-takers during the open-book exam, which took place in April, the committee confirmed.