Fleeing teacher fired by school

By Li Xinran  |   2008-6-17  |     NEWSPAPER 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 yesterday.

Fan Meizhong, who became known as "Run Run Fan" after the incident, reportedly said he would sue the department which cancelled his license, immediately after receiving the official circular.

Wang Xuming, a Ministry of Education spokesman, confirmed yesterday that the school had sacked Fan, according to Xinhua news agency.

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 his or her own life," he was quoted by the newspaper as saying.

Fan's school remained intact in the earthquake and no student died.

"I think it might be a person's instinct to run for safety in the earthquake but he should not make those statements. They were inappropriate," Qing Guangya, the school principal, told Xinhua news agency.

But Qing also said that Fan, a graduate of elite Peking University, worked hard as a teacher and students liked him for his "independent" thinking.

"Judged from the ethics of a teacher, I don't think he should teach any more. Students will look down upon him," said Guo Xiao, one of Fan's colleagues.

Fan reportedly left school at about 8pm on May 12, several hours after the earthquake and never returned.