Quake's 'coward' teacher gets the sack

By Li Xinran  |   2008-6-16  |     ONLINE EDITION

A TEACHER in Sichuan Province has been fired after he admitted leaving pupils behind as he fled during the earthquake, Guangzhou-based New Express reported today.

Fan Meizhong, who became known as "Run Run Fan" has had his license revoked, the newspaper said.

Fan announced he would sue the department, which cancelled his license, immediately after receiving the official circular.

Fan said there was no law saying that a teacher could have his or her license revoked for abandoning students in an emergency. "No rules stipulate that a teacher should save students at the risk of your own life," he added.

The Ministry of Education eliminated Fan from its teachers' list after pressure from netizens around the country and demands from parents of Fan's students, Zhang Hongliang, a professor in the Central University for Nationalities, said on his blog

Fan reportededly left school at about 8pm on May 12, several hours after the 8.0-magnitude earthquake, and never returned, according to a telephone interview between a freelance journalist and Fan's school principal on Saturday.

The headmaster, who was identified as Qing, told Zhu Guangbing, the freelancer at Phoenixtv.com, that the local educational authority informed him on Wednesday that Fan's license had been revoked by the ministry.

Qing then called Fan and told him he was fired and could not work as a teacher in the school.

Fan once said: "I ran as fast as I could, almost on all fours, to the football field. I found myself the first person there. I didn't see any of my students."

Earlier media reports said that when his students finally found their way to the playground, they asked him: "Teacher, why didn't you bring us out?''

He reportedly answered: "I'm not the sort of person who is ready to sacrifice his life. I care only about my own life. Don't you know that? One time I also ran quickly away from a fire emergency!''