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whatever punishment is given, it must be based on facts and be commensurate with the facts, nature, circumstances and degree of social harm of the illegal act.

recently, a labor dispute case caused by teachers' day gifts has come to an end. according to china national radio, a kindergarten principal was found to have violated the ministry of education's regulations and was fired for "accepting" a box of chocolates worth 6.16 yuan from a student on the eve of teachers' day in 2023.

the principal of the kindergarten was dissatisfied and took the kindergarten to court. the court of first instance ruled that the kindergarten lost the case. the court held that the chocolates received by the parties were of small value and were given by children out of love and respect, and it was not appropriate to characterize them as receiving gifts and cash from students and parents. at the same time, when the two parties failed to reach an agreement on the job transfer, the kindergarten terminated the labor contract without giving them a chance to make corrections, which was obviously not prudent enough. the court determined that the termination of the employment contract by the kindergarten was illegal and that the kindergarten should pay compensation. both parties appealed. after hearing the case, the court of second instance rejected the appeal and upheld the original judgment.

looking through the "regulations strictly prohibiting teachers from accepting gifts, cash gifts, etc. from students and parents in violation of regulations" issued by the ministry of education, there are indeed prohibitions, "it is strictly prohibited to ask for or accept gifts, cash gifts, securities, payment vouchers and other property from students and parents in any way", and it also stipulates that "if the circumstances are serious, the teacher shall be expelled in accordance with the law and regulations, and his/her teaching qualifications shall be revoked."

the question is, if the principal "accepted" a box of chocolates worth 6.16 yuan from a student, would the school consider it a "serious case"? this gift is not worth much, nor can it be called a mid- to high-end gift. it should be distinguished from gifts, cash gifts, securities, payment vouchers and other property in the general sense. in addition, did the principal have the subjective intention to "ask" for improper benefits? the relevant surveillance footage shows that a child handed a portable plastic food bag to the principal and hugged him. it was teacher's day, and this small gift may have embedded the child's feelings for the teacher.

according to statements from relevant parties, "chocolates have been distributed to the children", which shows that the principal did not actually take advantage of the students' interests. it also shows that the principal's purpose in accepting the chocolates was to improve the relationship between teachers and students.

no matter what kind of punishment is given to teachers who accept gifts from students, it must be based on facts and be commensurate with the facts, nature, circumstances and degree of social harm of the illegal act. a mere 6.16 yuan worth of chocolates was dismissed. how can this be considered "minor"?

firing teachers is no joke. it is true that teaching is a noble profession that educates people. compared with other industries, teachers should have higher moral requirements. they must adhere to "zero tolerance" for situations that violate the teacher's ethics, deal with them seriously, and never condone them. but this does not mean that once a teacher makes a mistake, no matter how big or small, he or she must be "beaten to death with one stick." the kindergarten needs to reflect on how to distinguish "minor mistakes" from "teacher's moral corruption" so as to catch them early and prevent them from getting worse in a more scientific and reasonable way.

teachers may wish to take this incident as a reminder to strictly abide by relevant regulations and properly handle the relationship between personal relationships and teacher ethics, so as not to lose sight of the big picture. in the long run, it is necessary for functional departments to refine the regulations and further clarify the boundaries of the severity of the circumstances to achieve clean teaching.

yang chen, special commentator of red star news