Don’t butter up teachers: Chinese parents warned (again) not to give lavish gifts in attempt to end expensive tradition and likely bribes
- A mother in China has rejected an entrenched tradition of parents giving gifts to their children’s teachers and says she was ostracised as a result
- Education authorities have issued calls for restraint as well, as many consider lavish gifts to amount to bribes for grades and extra help
At the start of September every year, the most frequently asked question by parents in China is: “What do you plan to give to your kid’s teachers for Teacher’s Day?”
As this year’s Teacher’s Day approaches this Saturday, parents have been warned not to shower teachers with gifts, after a mother from the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region in southern China who refused to participate made the headlines.
The education bureau in Liuzhou city in the region issued an open letter on Wednesday urging parents not to bribe teachers under the guise of festival celebration, as the Teacher’s Day coincides with the Mid-Autumn Festival this year.
“Please don’t send cash gifts or any other gifts to teachers under any circumstance. Set a good example of incorruptibility and self-discipline for the children,” the bureau’s letter said.
The behaviour can “damage the clean school-family relationship”, the bureau added and said it welcomed tip-offs about excessive gifts so it could investigate.