A sixth-grade student was at the center of a controversy recently after his research paper won him a third prize in the China Adolescents Science and Technology Innovation Contest.

In the introduction to his study, the student, surnamed Chen from Kunming, capital of Yunnan province, claims he made use of genetics, cytobiology and biochemistry to find a mutant gene, C10orf67, and analyze its role in colorectal cancers. He claimed that just three days after he looked up "what is gene" on the Internet he was researching on it.

Biological experts say it is impossible for a student so young to be doing research on something that even undergraduate students have to struggle with.

Somebody pointed out on social networking sites that Chen's parents are researchers at the Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and his mother's research area is very similar to Chen's paper.

On Monday, the institute confirmed that Chen's parents were researchers there and they were looking into the matter.

Though the matter is under investigation, it looks like a case of the parents letting their son use their research work to win awards. Earlier this year, an economist was found to have published dozens of essays and poems written by his 10-year-old son in the financial journal Chinese Banker, of which he was editor-in-chief from 2006 to 2017.

As scientific awards help students add extra points during admission examinations, parents who have a research background are known to extend their achievements to their children. Which is a blatant abuse of academic power and even plagiarism.

This kind of academic corruption should be dealt with seriously to safeguard fairness in education. The review committee of the adolescents' innovation contest should review students' projects more strictly to avoid such scandals from erupting again.