A high school in Henan province has scrapped measures to prevent romantic relationships between students.

Zhao Yaotang, vice-principal of Luohe High School, said the controversial ban, introduced more than a month ago, has been dropped.

"We welcome criticism from the public and the media, which helped us see the problem from a different angle," Zhao said.

He said some rules, such as one banning a boy and girl from having private conversations in school, were not worded carefully.

Zhang Ting, a class counselor at Beijing No 5 High School, said a school can never truly stop relationships between young boys and girls.

"For high school students, sometimes encouragement from friends of the same sex is not enough for their personal growth. They also need the help of the opposite sex," she said.

But Zhang Haizhong, dean of the School of Education at Lanzhou City University, said high schools have their own difficulties in handling the delicate issue.

"If students are left to indulge themselves in dating, they will have little energy for study," he said. "Once a dating atmosphere prevails in school, it will be very difficult to redress."