Boy dismissed for father's 'honest suggestion' to dean

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‍Mr. Zhao from the city of Ningbo in east China's Zhejiang Province recently claimed that his 7-year-old son was dismissed from a local kindergarten after he disputed with the dean over school’s requirement of parents signing on RMB banknotes.

School teachers first sent a notification asking parents to hand in 1,000 yuan (151 US dollars) for their kid, which would be considered as reserving fee for a “school seat” in next semester. Meanwhile, all fees are required to be paid in cash with parents signature, in pencil, on the banknotes.

School teachers sent a notification asking parents to hand in 1,000 yuan (151 US dollars) with signatures. /Photo from Sina News

It’s often seen in China that tuition fees are handed in with signatures since signed ones help teachers tell whose money might be fake. However, Mr. Zhao challenged the kindergarten’s requirement and suggested to pay through online transfer instead of paying in cash.

“It’s forbidden to stain or dram on the bankenote according to Regulation of the People's Republic of China on the Administration of Renminbi,” Mr. Zhao told local media, “online payment also can avoid getting the counterfeit money.”

Mr. Zhao challenged the kindergarten’s requirement and suggested to pay through online transfer instead of paying in cash. /Photo from Sina News

This honest suggestion soon turned into trouble for Mr. Zhao, after he told it to the kindergarten dean. On the same day, he received a call from teachers, saying he could no longer send his son to the kindergarten.

“The dean questioned of my attitude and didn’t want to discuss it anymore, even though I didn’t quarrel with her at all,” Mr. Zhao added.

Mr. Zhao /Photo from Sina News

Later, Mr. Zhao called the police to negotiate, but the kindergarten still refused to accept the kid. And the dean, surname Zhang, said Mr. Zhao secretly filmed their conversation during the negotiation process.

Zhang told the media, even a tiny problem now can catch huge attention. Many kindergartens are afraid of being exposed to the public, through media.

Her words voiced the phenomenon that a series of kindergarten scandals came to spotlight lately. After a Shanghai kindergarten was reported to feed toddlers with wasabi, a US-listed kindergarten also sparked nationwide outrage for child abuse in November. All these cases are concerns of the kindergarten leaders, leading them to be more cautious when conflicts arise.

Even though the kindergarten in Ningbo tried to get rid of public attention, the unreasonable dismissal of a kid still caught local education authorities' attention, and an investigation has been launched.