A primary school based in the central China province of Henan is advising its students to ensure their own safety when they try to help others out of danger.

    "Children should learn to use their brain, not just courage, in emergencies," reads a public letter drafted by teachers with a primary school featuring foreign language teaching, in Zhongyuan District of the provincial capital Zhengzhou.

    In the letter, the students are advised to seek help from passersby and police first if they see someone fall into water or witness a theft or robbery.

    "Don't jump into the river rashly if you can't swim -- it's better to call for help," it says. "Never stand up against someone with weapons -- dial 110 and tell the police."

    It also encouraged the youngsters to outwit thieves and robbersby tailing or trapping them while waiting for the police to arrive.

    The letter was based on a recent discussion among the students on whether they should risk their own lives helping someone, said Li Nenxia, a tutor with the school.

    "The students agreed among themselves at the end of the discussion that they should carry forward heroism and the traditional Chinese virtue of selflessness, but modern heroism should be based on intelligence as well as bravery," she said.

    Li said the school authorities had affirmed the students' ideas."We strongly advise the students to take measured actions rather than risking their own lives in case of emergencies."

    The decision of her school was applauded by Zhang Linhai, a sociologist based in the province. "Generally speaking, minors are not capable of standing up against a criminal, or dealing with an accident or natural calamity. Their efforts could be in vain and it'd be a pity if they lost their own lives."

    Children, as a vulnerable group, should be protected and cared for by society, rather than being forced to shoulder the responsibilities of adults, said Zhang, a researcher on sociology and law with the Henan Provincial Academy of Social Sciences.

    He said the school's call mirrored social progress and had made school regulations more "humane". "Behind the new regulations is respect for the right to life," he said.

    Though some educators say youngsters are mostly pampered and self-centered as only children need to shoulder responsibility, Zhang insists there are other ways to do this.

    "We're not giving up traditional values by telling minors to attach equal importance to their own lives," he said. "Children can always learn to be selfless and responsible from their parents,teachers and society."

    Several generations of Chinese have been taught to "fight courageously against criminals" and "sacrifice themselves to save others". Heroic behavior left many children injured or even dead because they failed to fully foresee the dangers of their actions.

    A noted example was Lai Ning, who was listed among China's "top 10 model youngsters" in 1989 after he lost his life while trying to put out a forest fire at the age of 14.

    For a long time, China's media reported these tragedies, praising the children's heroism and even calling on students nationwide to learn from them.

    But the deaths of teenagers committing "heroic acts" have sparked a nationwide controversy about the protection of the minors in recent years.

    "Children must be guided correctly to learn from heroes," said an official with the Zhengzhou municipal education bureau without giving his name. "We cannot advocate heroic acts which may cost them their lives."

    The nation's capital Beijing revised its 15-year-old student code early in 2003 and deleted a clause that encouraged youngsters to sacrifice their lives in an emergency.

    The amendment has been applauded by many parents, who believe schools must first teach children how to protect themselves before learning from heroes.

    Early this year, Ningbo city, in the eastern Zhejiang Province,forbade schools to rally students to fight floods, fires or other disasters in a set of new regulations on student safety at schools.