Father helps school get rid of smart phones

(ECNS)-- A father in Chongqing wants to donate 400,000 yuan ($65,530) to change the smart phones used by students in his son's middle school into non-smart ones, in order to help improve students' health and learning.

The man, whose son goes to Chongqing Railway Middle School, said that using a smart phone posed a negative influence on his son's studies and health.

He bought his son a 2,000-yuan smart phone in July 2012. The phone, which came with mobile Internet service, was a distraction from his studies.

"The boy concentrated on the phone even when he was eating and doing his homework. He was also unwilling to communicate with others," the father said.

"His eyesight was on the decline two months after we bought the phone for him, so I took it away from him."

Several months after the phone was confiscated, the teenager's eyesight improved gradually, and the boy once again started to communicate with his family.

After understanding the harm of using a smart phone, the man sent a message to the school, saying he would like to help more students by offering a 400,000 yuan donation to replace students' smart phones with non-smart ones.

The school's Principal Huang Xing, who couldn't decide whether to accept the donation, tried to solicit public opinions online.

Huang finally decided to accept a part of the donation, and launched a pilot program in one class.

So far, students in the pilot class have all changed their smart phones into non-smart ones.