Can we have no-gift Teachers' Day, please

Parents or teachers troubled by the increasing popularity of gift-giving should find welcome relief in the intensified measures taken by educational authorities against the malpractice. A few days before this year's Teachers' Day, which falls on Sept 10, the Ministry of Education issued a notice banning activities funded by public money and gift-giving, as well as extravagance in educational institutions, including schools.

The move is expected to curb the practice of parents gifting gifts to teachers, restore people's trust in the sanctity of the education system and cleanse the campus atmosphere.

It would be a shame for the education system - in fact, the nation as whole - if Teachers' Day were to become a time for parents to wrack their brains thinking about what gifts to give teachers to ensure that their children get "special treatment" or to prevent them from being discriminated against in class.