China is ready to list protecting the safety of students as a responsibility of teachers for the first time, as the country is collecting public suggestions to revise the Primary and Secondary School Teachers' Occupational Ethics.

The Beijing Youth Daily says this new item has raised wide disputes as to weather a teacher has the obligation to sacrifice himself or herself in order to save students from danger.

The paper notes that there are two different opinions. Some people think that just like soldiers should protect their country and even sacrifice their lives in times of national emergency, teachers should also have the solemn responsibility of protecting students.

In the devastating earthquake last month, many teachers in the quake-hit areas put the safety of their students before their own, but there were also teachers who ran away when their students were still in danger. Supporters of the newly-revised teachers' ethnics believe that the new regulation can effectively punish those runaway teachers.

However, opponents told the daily that protecting students should not be made mandatory. It is a good deed that needs to be advocated, but should not become a compulsory requirement. Instead, schools and education departments should also take responsibilities. They say if teachers can't protect themselves first, it is also hard for them to protect students.