Vienna, Nov. 20 (AFP): The decision by a headmaster in Austria to ban kissing from his school made front-page news today as outraged pupils and politicians slammed the move as medieval and excessive.

Siegfried Biermair, the head of a school in Gunskirchen, Upper Austria, sent a letter to parents on Monday informing them of the kissing ban after teachers complained that the kissing rituals of some girls were getting out of hand.

He said such behaviour “could lead to undesirable developments”.

So, at a meeting, teachers and a number of parents had voted unanimously in favour of a kissing ban.