A PRINCIPAL gathered all the teachers in a Chinese primary school in Penang. Who among them, he demanded, had filed a complaint against him with the education ministry?

When no one answered, he "punished" them like they were primary school pupils.

Related link: » They were gagged and bound with masking tape

He ordered the standing teachers to raise their arms above their heads and hold them up, reported China Press.

It was not known how long the teachers held that position for.

It was understood that the teachers who had been punished included the two vice-principals.

When contacted, the National Union of the Teaching Profession spokesman Luo Yanping said they were aware of the incident.

Ms Luo said the union had received a complaint a month ago.

The union and the education ministry are currently investigating.

She said: "If the complaint is true that principal behaved unprofessionally, he should not remain in that school because he can no longer work with the teachers."

She added that the principal should not have let his emotions rule his head, and he should respect the teachers even if he was unhappy.

The board of the primary school said they had heard that at least five of the teachers had requested for a transfer to another school.

So the board organised a meeting with the school's teachers on 30 Oct to listen to their complaints.

Lazy

A parent of a student described the principal as "lazy, irresponsible and obstinate".

"He is not a good example," said the father.

He said the principal would skip meetings, assigning his deputies to take his place.

"He once stopped the gardeners from trimming some thorny bushes that could be dangerous to the pupils because he said the bushes were good for his fengshui."

When contacted, the principal did not want to comment, but said he hoped for all the unpleasantness to go away.

This article was first published in The New Paper.

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