A primary school teacher asked students from his class who scored below 85 marks in their Mathematics exam to write letters of apology.

A disgruntled parent called Lianhe Wanbao to complain when her daughter was made to write this letter upon scoring 75 marks in her exam.

The primary five student had to explain why she did not score at least 85 marks (the minimum mark for Band 1), and get her parents to sign the letter.

Related link: » Boy, 7, slapped thrice for skipping tuition » Girl, 9, slapped by teacher for being 10 minutes late

In her class, 5A, a total of six students were made to write letters of apology.

"My daughter wrote repeatedly that she had tried her best. She was also worried that she would be kicked out of her class, and kept on apologising to the teacher," said Mdm Chen.

"She doesn't know how many students did not score at least 85 marks, but she is devastated."

She also said that her daughter used to be very cheerful, but she has become more and more depressed since she started primary five.

"She would ask me what I would do if she was not in the best class."

Mdm Chen says she told her daughter to just do her best and not give herself too much pressure, but is still concerned that she may breakdown due to stress.

'I tried my best'

In her letter of apology, Mdm Chen's daughter wrote "I tried my best" four times, and apologised to the teacher twice.

According to the letter, she scored 60 marks in the last exam, and 75 marks for this exam, but she apologised for "improving too little".

She also wrote, "I know I will be kicked out of this class."

Mdm Chen said she cried when she read the letter.

"The letter really broke my heart. I never pressured my daughter to be first in class. I really want to ask the school: why put so much pressure on the students?"

Principal: Teacher just wants to encourage them

The school's principal told Lianhe Wanbao that the purpose of the letters was to make the students reflect, and encourage them to improve their performance.

The six students did not meet the targets that they had set for themselves, so the teacher's intention was to help them understand where they went wrong, and improve they way they learn.

Their parents' signature was required so that they will be kept informed of their children's progress in school.

The principle also clarified that this was not practiced in other classes within their school.