Directive targets sexual misconduct on campus

Teachers who sexually harass students will pay a heavy price and education authorities will continue to expose their misconduct and punish them according to relevant regulations, the Ministry of Education said on Monday after teachers at two top universities were fired over sexual misconduct.

Ren Youqun, director of the ministry's Department of Teacher Education, said that the ministry has zero tolerance for teachers sexually harassing students and it will intensify its efforts to hold violators accountable.

Teachers should not engage in inappropriate relationships with students, and they should not molest or sexually harass students under any circumstances, he said.

University teachers who sexually harass students or commit academic misconduct will be removed from teaching positions and have their teaching credentials revoked, according to a new guideline on Monday.

Primary and middle school teachers who take gifts and money from students and parents will face similar punishment, said the guideline, issued by the ministry and six other departments.

Teaching ethics is the most important criterion in teacher evaluations, and serious offenders will be banned from teaching for life, the guideline said.

All students pursuing education degrees should take teaching ethics courses, and all teachers should receive ethics training every year, it said.

An online platform will be built to publicize teachers who have violated teaching ethics, and schools should publish hotlines and email accounts to gather reports of misconduct, it added.

Peking University recently fired an associate professor for professional misconduct after online posts alleged that he was having inappropriate relationships with various women at the same time, some of whom were students.

The university also revoked the teaching credentials and academic title of Feng Renjie, 36, after an investigation found that he "seriously violated professional ethics", it said in a Sina Weibo post on Wednesday.

In another case, Qian Fengsheng, 55, an associate professor at Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, was fired after one of his students alleged that he locked her in his car and sexually assaulted her.

Qian's teaching credentials and academic titles will also be revoked, the university said in a Weibo post on Dec 9 after it conducted an investigation into the incident.

The student wrote a post on WeChat that contained recordings of her crying in the car and asking why Qian wanted to assault her. She also posted harassing text messages that he had sent her before and after the incident.

Li Meijin, a professor in criminal psychology at Chinese People's Public Security University, said campus sexual harassment has long been a hidden problem in China as most students tend to keep things to themselves, fearing retaliation from teachers or being stigmatized.

"I'm glad to see more students reporting incidents of being sexually assaulted and they have learned to protect themselves by collecting evidence of the incidents," Li said.

Schools and education authorities should deal with these complaints seriously and truly show no tolerance for teachers who engage in sexual misconduct, and law enforcement authorities should also deal with the cases and hold the teachers accountable, she added.