A former dean of Wuhan University in Hubei province has become an online celebrity after she used her resignation letter to highlight the problems in Chinese universities’ administration systems.

Xia Qiong, former dean of the School of Journalism and Communication at Wuhan University, posted her resignation letter on WeChat on May 25. In the letter, Xia suggested that the university remove her from the her position, as she had made barely any achievements over the past 12 years.

Xia revealed in her letter that the true reason for her resignation was that she was tired of the administration systems in Chinese universities.

“Truth to be told, I’ve been punching above my weight to fight against the university administrative system, which disrespects teachers’ honor and students' dignity. ... it’s so hard to be an earnest educator,” Xia wrote.

Xia’s resignation letter soon went viral online. Many scholars have supported Xia’s opinion, criticizing universities for their “outdated and suffocating” administration systems. Others added that the system negatively influences scholars’ enthusiasm for education and research.

In response to the outpouring of public support, Xia told the Beijing Times that she is just an ordinary educator. She said that although she resigned from her position as dean, she plans to keep teaching for the foreseeable future.

“Chinese authorities have been calling for the 'de-administration' of universities for years, but the truth is, schools don't pay much attention to teaching. For instance, due to the current evaluation standards for professors, published research papers is more important than teaching skills. [Universities] attach great importance to the application of research programs instead of valuing scientific merit and results,” said Xia.

“I just want to speak the truth and teach my students without disturbance,” Xia added.