A teacher live-streams Chinese class in an empty classroom in Xi'an, Northwest China's Shaanxi Province on Monday. As in Beijing, schools in Xi'an were also suspended on Monday due to heavy smog. Photo: CFP

There is a "live show" that happened unexpectedly during an exam of third-year high school students.

A high school teacher in Qianguo County in North China's Jilin Province, recently conducted a livestream while invigilating exams for his students,  provoking outcry among netizens after it gained more than 1,500 views from users online.

The video shows that the invigilator, casually draped in his overcoat, slumped in his desk chair on the podium, folded his arms, and sighed impatiently in front of the camera. Facing criticism from netizens, the teacher wrote a reply during the livestream, saying that he did not disturb the students and that he was only doing so to prevent himself from falling asleep during the invigilation.

The incident spark heated discussion on Chinese social media Sina Weibo. Many netizens said the teacher was irresponsible, affecting students' exams and violating their image rights.

The teacher has been suspended from his job and the incident is under special investigation, the local education bureau said in a statement released on Tuesday.  

"The teacher's behavior clearly violated teaching conventions and the most basic invigilation requirements," a teacher surnamed Huang, who was in charge of the invigilation team at an exam site of the gaokao, the national college entrance exam, in Beijing, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

Huang stressed that the exam is a serious issue, not for only students need to take seriously, but for invigilators to fulfill their responsibilities. "It is the teacher's job to keep the examination in good order, although it is indeed boring. At least you can't fiddle with your phone. Read a book or have fun."

Huang also said many exams, such as the senior high school exams and the gaokao, are kept secret, so invigilators are not allowed to publicly post anything related to the exams on the internet, not even photos of school gate where the exams are held.

"At a time when live streaming is popular all over the country, it is not a problem for teachers getting involved in live streaming in their spare time, but they should set it aside for appropriate occasions. The content of live broadcasting also needs to conform to the identity of the teachers," Chu Zhaohui, a research fellow at the National Institute of Education Science told the Global Times.