Do you think you are the only one who used to get weird assignments from your professors? A Chinese university professor has caused a heated debate online after giving his students a peculiar task. The students have been tasked with an assignment where they have to add 1,667 friends on WeChat to secure A+ grade. WeChat is China’s most known and famous social network.
The questionable assignment was assigned to the students that are talking the Online and New Media course at the Henan University of Economics and Law. The students have to add a minimum of 1,001 new friends on WeChat if they want to earn 60 marks out of 100. The higher the number of friends that they add after the threshold, the more score will they get. The students that are capable of befriending a minimum of 1,667 friends will be securing A+ grade. A number of students, however, especially the introverts, have complained that the task is too difficult. The faculty at the university defended the colleague though saying that such assignment prepares the youngsters for real life.
According to one student, ‘It’s a difficult assignment task. I only have about 100 friends on WeChat. Many of us feel frustrated and worried we couldn’t add so many friends.’ Other students have complained that there is no alternative to this assignment available and that the score of this assignment will make up for the 30% of their final grade in the course. The assignment was given on 10th March and students have only two weeks to complete it.
A professor at the Henan University of Economics and Law said, ‘This assignment comes from a core module in the course. What we’re saying is that afterward, when these students look for work, they will have the basic skills necessary for this type of social media operation.’ The controversial assignment has been posted on Weibo – China’s version of Twitter – and became viral soon enough while sparking heated debate.
A person wrote on Weibo, ‘I think this course is good and offers many challenges.’ Another said, ‘If this is a marketing class, then it makes sense. But some people just don’t use their knowledge to observe people’s practices. This is very ignorant.’ What do you think of this?