A seven-year-old orphan boy, rejected by a primary school in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, because he looked "unsightly," is expected to join the class in the fall semester.

The boy, identified simply as Fudeng, has sunken cheeks.

The refusal at the Meihua Primary School in Shenzhen, suspected of being discriminatory, sparked debate in this city and led to local government officials and public agencies stepping in.

Officials with Shenzhen Civil Administrative Department and Education Department tested Fudeng.

The Shenzhen Welfare Institution, which looks after Fudeng, said the school agreed to accept.

Any school has no reason to refuse qualified applicants, said an official from the Shenzhen Education Department.

Fudeng was turned down by the Meihua Primary School while five other children of the same age, also from Shenzhen Welfare Institution, were admitted.

The school office explained that "Fudeng's unsightly looks might frighten other students."

Later, the school questioned Fudeng's intelligence, implying that he might need to go to a special school for disabled children.

The school received protests from some students' parents, worried Fudeng's physical appearance may lead to disputes among students.

Staff with Shenzhen Welfare Institution argued that "Fudeng is very smart and physically healthy. He can recite many poems and make friends with children here. There is no excuse to deprive him of his right of enrollment into a normal school only because of his sunken cheeks."

A student parent surnamed Li has expressed his support of Fudeng's enrollment, saying "the boy has the same right as other children of school age to receive education. As parents, we should tell our children to care more about disable schoolmates."

(China Daily June 14, 2004)