Any teacher confirmed to have abused, molested or sexually harassed students will be permanently banned from teaching in China, the Ministry of Education (MOE) said on Friday.

Their teaching credentials, academic titles and honors will be revoked, and their misconduct will be recorded in the national teachers' management information system and no school will be allowed to hire them to teach or research, or hold a management position, the ministry said in a new code of conduct for teachers from kindergarten to university.

Teachers accused of committing crimes will be referred to law enforcement authorities and schools that fail to examine and punish teachers, or attempt to hide their misbehavior will also be held accountable, the ministry said.

The code of conduct also listed 10 types of unwanted behavior for teachers in kindergarten, high school and college. Violating the moral conduct of teachers in the list will prevent them from getting promoted or even "veto" their careers, the ministry added. 

The list includes making remarks which "damage the authority of the Central Party Committee," "contradict Party policies" and "harm national or public interests."

The list of misconduct for college teachers includes releasing and sharing "wrong arguments" during class, lectures, seminars or through the internet, as well as "fabricating or spreading harmful information."

Kindergarten teachers who publish or share "wrong arguments" through the above-mentioned channels and during child care will also be punished, according to the code of conduct released on Friday.   

Compared to the previous requirements, the new code clarified a "negative list" for misconduct for teachers. Aside from listing unwanted moralities, it also lists unwanted behaviors, Xiong Bingqi, deputy director of the Shanghai-based 21st Century Education Research Institute, told the Global Times on Friday.

China has more than 16 million teachers. While most of them are disciplined and respected, a few of them are not firm in their faith and engaged in misconduct that "damaged the image of teachers and affected the healthy growth of students," according to a statement released by the MOE on Friday.

The list also states that those who discriminate, insult, abuse, molest and harm students, or run away from their work and abandon students in emergencies will also be held accountable.

The code was issued after a series of child abuse and sexual harassment cases in schools that shocked Chinese society.

In July, Sun Yat-sen University in South China's Guangdong Province warned and disqualified Zhang Peng, a sociology professor, after students accused him of sexual harassment when they were engaged in field work or discussing their thesis.

A teacher surnamed Liu at the RYB Education New World Kindergarten in Beijing's Chaoyang district was arrested in December 2017, after the procuratorate of Chaoyang pressed charges against Liu, accusing her of using sewing needles to "discipline" children who would not sleep.

Some schools tend to hide sexual harassment cases to the public, fearing the cases might damage the schools' reputation, Xiong said. To fully implement the new code of conduct, independent investigation is needed so that problematic teachers will not be shielded and also to avoid arriving at the wrong conclusion on teachers, he said.

Independent investigations are necessary when a teacher faces such accusations, and their right to defend themselves should also be strictly protected, to ensure a fair and open process, analysts said.

Moral misconduct is a strong yet difficult-to-define accusation, which requires greater prudence in drawing conclusions and an impartial investigation from an independent third party, Chu Zhaohui, a research fellow at the Beijing-based National Institute of Education Sciences, told the Global Times on Friday.

If the teachers disagree with the school's conclusion, they can seek a review from administrative organizations, the MOE documents said on Friday.

The reasons behind the misconduct should also be further discussed, such as how to create an evaluation system not based entirely on academic performance but also ethical behavior, Xiong added.