An award-winning teacher from a school in Tianjin was removed from her teaching position and had her teaching qualification revoked on Saturday after discriminatory remarks she made to some students about their families' low incomes triggered public anger.

On Thursday, a 15-second voice recording uploaded online revealed some discriminatory comments made by Xiao Caihong, a junior middle school mathematics teacher at Xianshuigu No 2 Middle School in Tianjin's Jinnan district, to some students.

She said they shouldn't blame her for the discrimination because they were of inferior quality compared to some other students, and their parents did not earn very much.

"The mother of (one student) could make more money in a year than the amount your mother would earn in 50 years," she said.

"The parents of my previous students were government officials or wealthy … does your quality equal theirs, and how could that be possible?"

Her comments triggered debate online, and local education authorities launched an investigation on Friday.

Xiao had been listed as an outstanding faculty member of the school, winning awards like "most beautiful teacher" in 2014, and was recognized as one of its best teachers because of her excellent performance in teaching classes and improving students' scores.

Her personal profile, which listed her major awards and achievements, was removed from the school's website on Sunday.

On Saturday, the district education bureau announced on its WeChat account that Xiao's misbehavior had been confirmed and she had been removed from her position.

Top officials at the district-level key school were also held accountable and received warnings as punishment, it added.

The bureau announced a rectification event covering all educational institutions from kindergartens to universities in the district to prevent any recurrence of similar behavior.

A series of meetings to emphasize the need for teachers to have strong morals will be held for a week from Monday, a senior official said.