(ECNS) -- A university professor has called for Chinese education authorities to ban teacher-student romances, sparking heated debate online, cnr.cn reports.
Yan Yiming, a professor at the Beijing Institute of Technology, said in an article published in Monday's China Youth Daily that sex scandals involving teachers and students at universities in China have ruined the reputation of academics. He called on authorities to strengthen rules and ban such romances.
Choosing to be a teacher means one has to give up certain freedoms, Yan said.
His supporters say that teacher-student romances are inappropriate due to disparities in age, role definitions and social standing, while opponents say anything not forbidden by law is legitimate, so schools should not restrict the freedom of teachers and students to express true love toward one another.
"I oppose the idea," said a netzien nicknamed Cuimian Dashi. "Sex scandals and romances are totally different. We should not ban all people from walking just because someone fell. Also, it would be difficult to implement the ban. How can you forbid others to fall in love? True love will always find a way."
Another online contributor, nicknamed Candy Suxiaodie, wrote that "the number of teachers with decayed morals is small and we should never overgeneralize things".
"Instead, we should see that many more teachers are playing the role of mentor in student lives and studies - there are many cases of teacher-student romances lasting for a lifetime. Love is beautiful."
Others commented that students should not fall in love with their teachers while in college and that only after graduation should have the freedom to love. However, it was added, such romances should neither be opposed nor advocated.
