Chinese High School Bans Cell Phones; Violators Get Their Phones Smashed

Chinese schools mean serious business when it comes to preparing students for the college entrance exam -- a high school in Wuhan, Hubei province, has taken to confiscating students’ cell phones, smashing them, and displaying them prominently as a warning to other students, according to Long River Daily, a Wuhan-based regional newspaper.

Everyone has cell phones now, and students in China are no different. However, schools and parents alike believe cell phones distract students from studying for the all-important college entrance exam, the feared gaokao. The school in question, to combat the distraction, essentially outlawed cell phones. Aany violators will have their device confiscated and smashed with a hammer. The school even made a “cell phone corpses display”, to warn potential violators. Reportedly, the school has even obtained approval from parents for the rule.

The school has come under heat for its “violent regulations”. Some questioned whether the measure is necessary. Why couldn’t the school turn cell phones over to students’ parents to keep, for example? Parents and teachers really will go to any length for the exam. Just imagine the pressure students are under -- and that's without the distraction of Angry Birds, too.