Agencies;- The director of a China Nursery She was fired for accepting a student’s gift, a box of chocolate that cost less than a dollar, reported the South China Morning Post.
On the eve of Teachers’ Day, which is celebrated in China on September 10, Wang, the headmistress of the kindergarten, accepted a box of chocolates worth 85 cents from one of the students. The school is located in the city of Chongqing, in the southwest of the country.
Surveillance footage shows the boy handing the candy to the teacher, who then hugs him. He then shares the candy with other children, the preschool said in a statement.
Wang was then told she was fired for violating Ministry of Education regulations prohibiting teachers from accepting gifts from students or their parents. The woman subsequently filed a lawsuit in court.
During the trial, representatives of the nursery insisted that accepting a gift, regardless of its value, was in breach of the rules, but the court ruled that the chocolate had been given to her by a pupil out of love and respect, and that the teacher’s actions did not indicate that she was accepting a gift.
Wang’s dismissal was declared unlawful and the institution was ordered to pay compensation. The nursery appealed the ruling, but a new trial upheld the original ruling.
The case sparked a strong reaction on social media, with millions of users supporting Principal Wang. An editorial on Shanghai Television commented: “Public opinion is against teachers asking for gifts and parents competing to buy expensive gifts, not against children saying thank you.”
