A German exchange student recently became the topic of discussion among Chinese netizens after scoring a zero on his math test and complained that the questions were too hard.

Leaving most of the test questions blank, the student wrote in Chinese, "Sorry, I have no clue. China's math tests are too hard."

Like Us on Facebook

A photo of the said test was posted online by an unknown source, according to newspaper Wuhan Chutian Metropolis.

The student is currently a tenth grader at a Tianjin high school and has been in China for about five months, the paper reported.

Additionally, the Chutian Metropolis posted past exams of the student; most notable among them is a history test where he scored 16 out of 100. Similarly, the student commented on the test and wrote in the Chinese final composition section, "I have no idea what this is about, so I am pretty bored. I'm sorry."

The teacher, seemingly sympathetic to his recent transfer, replied, "It's Ok! Your Chinese handwriting is pretty good though. Keep it up!"

The incident has sparked debates over China's education system.

A study compiled by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in December 2013 found that Chinese students generally fare better in math compared to their American and British counterparts.

"Taking math tests is like doing brain workouts. They improve your mental toughness and focus even for jobs in other areas," said Tianyi high school student Zhou Jingcheng, who agrees with the current education system in teaching advanced math in high school.

However, some believe that teaching advanced math to high schoolers is unnecessary.

An article in ECNS suggested that China's exam-oriented college admission system may be neglecting an important part of learning - practical approach and logic training.

Zhang Jinson, an expert at the People's Education Press, said that the country's evaluating model was too simple and failed to take into account a student's overall abilities.

"Students' complaints about math learning was mainly caused by pursuing high scores in gaokao national college entrance examination - by doing difficult tests and homework. It has buried the beauty of math." he said.

Tagseducation system, Gaokao, Advanced Math, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, People's Education Press, College entrance exams