Li Hao, a high school graduate from Wenchuan, risked his life to save others during the quake, and almost won an honorary title that would have secured him a college place.

But due to an administrative¹ mix-up, it was not Li Hao, but a little-known transfer student, who collected the accolade².

Li Hao, a former provincial³ candidate for a "model students in quake relief" award, who led his class to safety from the quake and aftershocks in Wenchuan, lost out to Li Xiaowen (not his real name), a student at Weizhou Middle School. Li Hao ended up with nothing.

Li Xiaowen, who hails from Chengdu, the provincial capital of Sichuan, had been at his new school for just 20 days, Qiu Shengxiang, his teacher, was quoted as saying yesterday by the Beijing News.

On June 25, outraged⁴ by the error, more than 200 students and teachers from the school filed a petition to the national education bureau, asking for an immediate⁵ investigation⁶.

A probe was ordered by education officials in Wenchuan county and their superiors in Aba prefecture. Investigators⁸ found that Li Xiaowen was recommended not by the high school but by an elementary school attached to the Weizhou Ethnic⁹ Minority Normal Institute, where his father is headmaster.

The mistake over the names was due to a "typo", investigators said, adding that Li Xiaowen should keep his award, as he also acted bravely during the quake.

However, Zhu Gaoqin, an investigator⁷ from Wenchuan, said he felt the credit "was a bit too much" for the boy, who had not been officially entered as a model student.

Li Xiaowen's profile reached Aba by chance, said Huang Yueguo, a local investigator.

The boy's elementary school e-mailed details of its candidates to the education bureaus in both Wenchuan and Aba, and officials with the latter submitted all forms to the provincial offices, Huang said.

Provincial examiners heavily relied on these forms. So while other candidates' information was more rigid¹⁰ and simple, Li Xiaowen's was of "a more comprehensive, narrative¹¹ style, and was more noticeable," he said.

Li Xiaowen's father said he makes no apology for recommending his son, adding that the investigation was unfair on the boy. "My son behaved well during the quake relief efforts," he said.

"My child and I are in a bad mental state," he said, adding they were both victims of "constant, naive¹²" speculation¹³ and misunderstanding.

In September, Li Xiaowen will begin his studies at Fudan University in Shanghai, following a notice from the Ministry¹⁴ of Education that those honored as "model students in quake relief" would be exempt¹⁵ from taking the college entrance exam.