Principal fired for accepting gifts from students

The incident occurred at the Three Gorges Private Kindergarten in Chongqing, China. On September 8, 2023, Ms. Wang, the kindergarten principal, was welcoming students with another colleague when she unexpectedly received a box of chocolate worth 6.16 yuan on Chinese Teachers' Day.

The entire process of Ms. Vuong receiving the gift was recorded by the school's camera. After receiving the gift bag containing chocolate, Ms. Vuong immediately shared it all with the students around her. Immediately after that, the Tam Hiep Private Kindergarten Board of Directors met and decided to transfer Ms. Vuong to another branch. Or if she continued to work at the school, Ms. Vuong would have to resign from her position as principal and only become a homeroom teacher.

Ms. Vuong did not agree with the above two options and was fired by the school. The reason given by the school was that the female principal affected the school's image and violated the regulations of the Chinese Ministry of Education which strictly prohibits teachers from accepting gifts from parents and students.

After being fired without convincing, Ms. Wang sued the representative of the Tam Hiep Private Kindergarten. On March 28, 2024, the first instance trial of the Jiulongpo District People's Court (Chongqing) concluded as follows:

"The box of chocolates that Ms. Vuong received was of small value and was given by a student out of love and respect, so it did not violate the regulations prohibiting teachers from receiving gifts of the Chinese Ministry of Education. At the same time, when the two parties could not reach an agreement, the school immediately terminated the labor contract, not giving Ms. Vuong a chance to correct her mistake. This violates the Labor Law, so with an illegal decision, the school must compensate the employee."

However, Tam Hiep Private Kindergarten did not agree with the court's conclusion after the first instance trial and appealed. In early September, the appeal hearing took place, and the Chongqing No. 5 Intermediate People's Court upheld the first instance verdict.

Currently, the incident has received public attention in this country. Many people sided with Ms. Vuong, saying that the school's dismissal of the female principal was unreasonable. "The school did not consider the nature of the incident and the values the female principal brought. The act of accepting a low-value gift is not considered illegal," one person commented.

According to lawyer Ly Dinh Thang of Tay Ho Office (Zhejiang), the fact that some teachers take advantage of the holiday to ask students and parents to give gifts has damaged the general image of teachers. This action is not beneficial for teachers to conduct fair and responsible evaluations in education. Mr. Thang emphasized that it is impossible to prohibit students from expressing their feelings and giving gifts to teachers.

"The incident of the female principal receiving chocolate on Teachers' Day is a demonstration of gratitude from students to teachers. Or simply an interaction between students and teachers, not a case of teachers taking advantage of their position to receive valuable gifts for personal gain. Applying regulations mechanically without considering specific situations is a violation of the legitimate rights of workers by the school," said Mr. Thang.

*September 10th is Chinese Teachers' Day every year. Photo: Baidu*

In addition to Ms. Vuong's case, recently, Ms. Ba Nha Dinh, a teacher at Hefei No. 6 Secondary School, Anhui (China), was accused of receiving two sets of high-value cosmetics from her parents on Chinese Teachers' Day. The incident also caused much controversy in public opinion nationwide.

In a video that appeared on Chinese social media, Ms. Dinh received gifts from her parents at a fruit shop under the apartment building where she lives. When the parents called Ms. Dinh to come down and receive the gifts, the teacher said: "Families should not be so polite, I am too embarrassed."

After that, Ms. Dinh took the gift and left. Notably, the process of Ms. Dinh receiving the gift and talking to the parents were professionally recorded. On September 12, when the incident caused a stir, Hefei Secondary School No. 6 had a meeting with Ms. Dinh. Here, the female teacher admitted the incident.

Reporting to the Hefei City Education Administration, a school representative confirmed that Ms. Dinh received two valuable cosmetic sets from her parents on Chinese Teachers' Day. The Hefei City Education Department is currently reviewing the case.

The incident received mixed opinions. Some people said that if parents had the heart to give the teacher a gift to thank her, there was no need to stage it to record evidence. The parents' pre-prepared actions received a lot of criticism.

Others believe that Ms. Dinh is so used to receiving gifts that parents can easily approach her. They condemn Ms. Dinh’s actions as tarnishing the image of teachers and call on education authorities to take strong action.