Facing mounting pressure from media and parents, a primary school in Guangdong Province canceled a pilot program that replaced students' afternoon naps with guided meditation, local media reported Friday.
The program at Shishan Shuben Primary School in Foshan was suspended just two days after reports of the required meditation circulated widely online, according to news portal eastday.com.
Many social media users were critical of the school policy, with some calling it "cultish."
Zhang Jianhua, an official with the Nanhai District Educational Bureau, told Nandu Daily that some schools in Southeast Asian countries had successfully included meditation into their curriculums.
One parent told Foshan TV that the school sent out notices saying teachers would replace afternoon naps with meditation beginning September 1.
Students complained that the meditation was too difficult and that their feet hurt from folding their legs.
The principal, surnamed Wu, said nap time was canceled because the metal-framed beds students slept on were "unsafe" and the student dormitories were "poorly ventilated."
