Is it permissible for a teacher to accept gifts presented to him?

Question:
May Allah reward you, Your Excellency. This questioner says: I am a teacher in some schools. We give some gifts, such as bags, tapes, and other things. Is it permissible to accept these gifts? Do I own them? Or must I put them in the school where I work?

Answer:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. First, a word to Your Excellency: I do not feel comfortable hearing that title, for it is meant for those who address the ministers. As for a teacher, it is not permissible for him to accept gifts from students, whether they are bags or other things, or money or otherwise. It is not permissible for the teacher because he is in the position of a judge, as he judges the students in their lessons and in their exams. If he accepts a gift, it becomes a bribe. A bribe is what is presented to a judge, whatever the type of judgment, whether the judgment is judicial, educational, or otherwise. It is not permissible for him to accept a gift in any case, even if it is a pen, a ruler, a notebook, or something else, because that makes him a target for suspicion and allows students to speak ill of him. They will say, "We gave him a gift, and yet he did not be fair in our answers, and he did not correct our answers," or something like that. Others will talk about him, so he should not open the door to himself. He should not accept any gift from a student.