Quoting a Facebook post, the Chinese daily said the student was barred from entering her classroom because of her haircut and had initially been given the option to cover her head until her hair grew back.

The girl’s parents, who had been informed that students were prohibited from having extremely short hair, were not comfortable with the idea of their daughter covering her head and decided to settle the fine.

The fine imposed caused outrage on social media, the daily reported, with netizens condemning the school’s actions, arguing that it would only give the impression that money was all it took to resolve an issue.

One Facebook user also wondered why the student was issued a fine, instead of a warning in view of the fact this was the girl’s first offence.

Others also questioned the school’s move to force the student to choose between covering her head or paying a fine.

The report by Oriental Daily did not indicate if the student is from an all-girls school or co-ed school.