Identity theft victim struggles to reclaim student status

A victim of identity theft in Henan province has been refused admission to college because 13 years ago another woman used her ID to obtain a degree.

Wang Nana first applied to Zhoukou Vocational and Technical College in 2003 after taking the national college entrance exams.

She was admitted at the time, but never received her admission letter because it was intercepted by Zhang Yingying, who attended the college using Wang's name.

Zhang later graduated with a certificate that carries her photograph but Wang's name and ID number, and landed a job as a teacher at a vocational school.

The truth was only revealed in March last year, when nine officials were sanctioned and Zhang's student status was revoked following a police investigation.

Wang, 33, now wants to attend Zhoukou Vocational and Technical College, but it recently rejected her application, citing rules and regulations that do not allow her to attend twice.

"I borrowed many books and planned to read them, it is really difficult, especially at my age," she said.

"For me, going to college would mean having no regrets in life, so I do not want to give up.

"I am interested in majoring in education because my dream was to be a teacher when I was a girl."

After her story appeared in the media, the provincial education authority put out a statement saying that it had not received any requests relating to recovering Wang's student status at Zhoukou Vocational and Technical College.

A college official said on Friday that her application will be resubmitted to the provincial education authority.

"I am the mother of two kids, and my family lived in Luoyang, not in Zhoukou, so whether I can go to that college is a big issue that needs careful consideration." Wang said. "But I have the right to ask the college to give me a reply."