Former students and investigators are exposing troubling accounts from China’s so called behavior correction schools, where teenagers labeled as rebellious or problematic are allegedly subjected to deception, confinement, and severe abuse.
Baobao, now 19, says simple everyday experiences still trigger fear years after she was sent to one such institution. The smell of wet soil after rain takes her back to early morning military drills carried out behind locked gates at Lizheng Quality Education School. She was 14 when she arrived, believing she was attending a short term program meant to help her improve her behavior. Instead, she found herself cut off from the outside world for six months in a remote village compound.
According to Baobao, students were rarely allowed to leave the building and lived under constant surveillance and rigid discipline. She says those who failed to follow orders were subjected to brutal physical punishment. Some were beaten so badly they could not sit or sleep comfortably for days. Fear, she recalls, was woven into every moment of daily life.
Speaking under a pseudonym due to concerns about retaliation, Baobao describes the experience as overwhelming and traumatic. She says she contemplated taking her own life during her time at the school and claims other students attempted suicide as well. Her testimony includes allegations of both physical and sexual abuse by staff members.
Reporting by the BBC Global China Unit and Eye Investigations suggests Baobao’s experience reflects a broader pattern. Former students and families say teenagers are sometimes taken to these schools without informed consent, often after parents are convinced the institutions offer strict but legitimate discipline.
Critics argue that many of these facilities operate with limited oversight by presenting themselves as private training centers rather than detention like institutions. Human rights advocates are calling for stricter regulation, independent inspections, and stronger protections for minors to prevent further harm.
