Principal loses job for hiring pole dancer to welcome Kindergarten children in China; school issues apology to parents

Beijing: A Kindergarten principal of a Chinese school was fired following parents and public anger for permitting a pole dance which was performed on the flagpole bearing the national flag. Education authorities from Baoan district of Shenzhen, South China’s Guangdong Province fired the principal amid criticism of the pole dance show in front of children on the first day of classes on Monday, state-run Global Times said. The Baoan district education bureau made the announcement, after a video went viral online in which the pole dancers are performing next to a flagpole bearing China’s national flag on the playground of the Xinshahui kindergarten, as part of the school’s opening day.

Kindergarten principal Lai Rong said there were 500 children aged three to six years old and 100 parents. Some of the boys in the audience were seen mimicking the strip-like pole dance moves. The school and its principal soon faced a backlash online, with many calling the dance absolutely inappropriate for children at that age. “We would like to pull our children out of the school and get a refund,” said one of the parents. Lai sent an apology letter to the daily on Monday, admitting that the school had failed to carefully examine the dance content before allowing it to be performed, and the school was simply trying to liven up the atmosphere. “A few parents did come to me requesting a refund and threatening to pull their children out of the school. While others said it was just to learn a new type of dance,” Lai said “I may as well be dead. I already lost the hope to live,” Lai said, claiming she arranged the pole dance because of the dancer’s excellent skills.