Father defends phone donation to school

A father in Chongqing defended his donation of non-smart phones to students at his son's school following critical comments, Chongqing Morning Post reported.

The father donated 400,000 yuan ($65,600), his annul income, to buy non-smart phones for students in his son's school in early October after reaching an agreement with the headmaster of the school that his identity would not be revealed.

The donation was made to classes as units, not to individual students in case some felt embarrassed that the devices were not smart phones. The students can log in on QQ, Tencent's instant messaging service but cannot browse the web.

After the donation, however, the father faced criticism from various media outlets who raised questions about his motives and if the donation should have been made to less well-off schools.

But the father said that he saw the damage a smart phone had done to his son's sleep and eyesight through extended use and did not want other students to suffer the same consequences. He said his son's health improved when he got him a non-smart phone.

"I am not a local tyrant, but a father who cares about children's health," the father said.