The Maple Bear Westlake Point International Kindergarten in Hà Nội’s Tây Hồ District will be shut down. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Tây Hồ District’s Department of Education and Training will halt the operation of Maple Bear Westlake Point International Kindergarten regarding an incident in which a student at the school was locked in a cupboard for not obeying teachers’ instructions, said an official.

Lê Hồng Vũ, head of the department, said on Monday that as soon as they received the information, the department requested the kindergarten hold a meeting with the student’s parents and apologise to the child and his family.

Two weeks ago, the department ordered the kindergarten to suspend operations after an inspection revealed that the facility did not have a licence, he said.  

The incident was uncovered on August 17 when a mother found that her daughter was scared of going to the preschool. She repeatedly asked the school to let her watch the camera footage from the class. She was shocked to see her daughter scolded and a classmate locked in a cupboard.

After the incident, management of the kindergarten posted a notice and an apology for the teacher’s misconduct on the school’s website.

The behaviour of the teacher was unacceptable and against the spirit of education and the student-centred approach, the notice said.

A representative from the kindergarten said the teachers involved in the incident have been sacked.

Maple Bear Kindergarten was established by CitySmart Vietnam.

The company, which has been involved in the education sector in Việt Nam since 2004, has eight schools operating in Hà Nội and HCM City.

The school teaches in English and has tuition fees of about VNĐ20 million (US$861) per month, an amount affordable only by the upper middle class and higher. — VNS