Morality to come first in teachers’ professional title evaluation

Teachers’ professional title evaluation will be delegated directly to higher education institutions, and morality will be the primary consideration, according to the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MHRSS).

The idea was put forward in the Provisional Measures on the Supervision and Management of Professional Title Evaluation of Higher Education Institutions released on Monday by the two ministries.

The measures define the role of colleges and universities as the major body of professional title evaluation, while the two ministries as the supervision and management body.

Colleges and universities should formulate their own assessment methods and operational plans for the evaluation based on their development goals and positioning, according to the announcement. The responsibility, standards and procedures should be clarified in their methods.

Colleges and universities should report the evaluation results of the last year to the departments in charge by March 31 each year. The documents should be properly kept for at least 10 years to ensure that the entire review process can be traced back.

Random spot checks will be regularly carried out. Based on the results of the spot checks and public opinion, targeted cases will be inspected.

In professional title evaluation, applicant teachers found to be deceptive or having academic misconduct will be dealt with according to relevant rules.

Dishonest teachers who passed the evaluation will have their appraisal results repealed and review experts who violated the discipline will be disqualified from accreditation and listed in the “black list”, according to the measures.