CHINA'S KINDERGARTEN PRINCIPAL

A kindergarten principal in China trying to liven up a formal back-to-school ceremony with a racy pole dancer was fired after angry parents lit up social media with complaints.

Like most schools across China, the Xinshahui Kindergarten in the Southern city of Shenzhen marks the start of the school year with a ceremony usually consisting of performances and speeches.

But last Monday's edition, which included the risque pole dance, cost the principal Lai Rong her job. Videos circulating on social media  showed a scantily-clad  dancer  in hot pants shimmying up and down a pole to thumping music as stunned children marching band uniforms looked on.

Others try to mimic the sultry moves, with several small boys gyrating their hips and dancing around each other. In the background, shocked parents could be heard commenting about the suitability of the performance.

Many took to  social media  to express  their outrage, threatening to pull their children out of school and calling for Lai's resignation.

''Pole dancing at school welcome ceremony? How can i trust my children with them? I'm going to pull my kid out and ask for a refund,'' one parent wrote on  social media  platform WeChat.

''Is the principal an Idiot?'' another commented on the Twitter-like site Weibo.

In a text message to the parents, Lai apologised for the  ''horrific viewing experience''  and for not checking the dancer's performance, adding that the dance was intended to liven up the atmosphere.

Hours later,  local education authorities announced they had fired the principal and put Xinshahui under investigation.

''Other schools in the district  should reflect on the incident and strictly upheld education standards,''  the  Bao'an education bureau said in a statement.

''I may as well be dead. I already lost the hope to live, Lai told  state-run tabloid the  Global Times. This was just one of  several incidents  in a shaky start to the  Chinese school year. [Agencies].