New guideline sets zero tolerance for teachers' sexual misconduct

Teachers who sexually harass students will pay 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 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, with teaching credentials revoked, according to a new guideline released 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 of Education and other six departments.

Teaching ethics is the most important criterion for teacher evaluation and those who seriously violate ethics will be banned from teaching for life, the guideline said.

An online platform will be built to publicize teachers who have violated teaching ethics, and schools should establish hotlines and e-mail accounts to receive reports of teachers' misconduct, it said.

Peking University 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 are students.

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

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

Qian's teaching credential and academic titles also were 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, containing recordings of her crying in the car and asking why Qian wanted to assault her, as well as harassing text messages he sent her before and after the incident.