Pupils sit in meditation in a primary school classroom during mid-day break in Foshan, South China's Guangdong province. (Photo/Jiangnan Times)
Pupils at a primary school in Foshan city, in south China's Guangdong province, were asked to sit in meditation instead of taking naps during their mid-day breaks.
Some parents said that they received notices ahead of the beginning of the new September semester, which said that the school decided to suspend mid-day naps and would ask students to meditate instead.
A pupil of the school approved the policy, saying each of them was given a piece of newspaper to sit on. The pupil added an instruction video on how to meditate, which featured the school's headmaster, played at the same time.
"He just keeps talking all the time while some of us have been falling asleep", the student said.
The headmaster, surnamed Wu, explained that the program was only a trail and a final decision on whether to replace naps with meditation would depend on students' feedback after a month.
Wu said he had practiced meditation for nearly 20 years and had benefited from it tremendously. He hoped that meditation could be promoted in the school.
He also made many tutorial videos on meditation, which were played in the classrooms during midday breaks.
Another reason behind the change was that the iron-framed bunk beds in the school's dormitory posed safety risks as students climbed up and down, He added.