Quanzhou authority halts dismissal of teachers, student over phone incident

The education bureau of Quanzhou, Fujian province, has ordered a local school to revoke its decision to expel a student and dismiss four teachers over an incident involving the student's phone, the bureau announced on Tuesday.

According to the bureau's statement, the school had launched a student behavioral guidance program in November after several safety incidents in which students were injured as they looked at their phones while walking or descending stairs on school grounds.

On April 30, a supervisor on campus spotted a student walking along an uphill path while using a mobile phone with his head down and intervened to offer advice. On Friday, the school announced through an internal work group that it would expel the student and dismiss four teachers held responsible. The decision sparked widespread discussion online.

Upon learning of the case, the Quanzhou education bureau ordered the school to halt the disciplinary measures.

The school subsequently held conversations with the student and the teachers involved, and neither the expulsion nor the dismissals were carried out.

The bureau has since summoned the school's principal for a formal talk and urged the institution to carry out rectification.

The school has acknowledged that its handling of the matter was inappropriate and has launched a full review and revision of its rules and regulations, with the aim of standardizing decision-making procedures and ensuring that the school operates in accordance with the law.