Two Chinese professors being suspended from their jobs for getting into an argument at the China University of Political Science and Law has again drawn public concern about teacher ethics.

One of the teachers Yang Fan claimed that his colleague Jin Shuren plagiarized more than half of her book, China's Human Resources Strategies in the 21st Century, in his student's doctorate paper. Jin also reported Yang to the school authorities for alleged plagiarism.

An investigation confirmed Jin's plagiarism, but cleared Yang.

However, since the argument became public, the university, in an effort to protect its reputation, decided to suspend the two professors earlier this month.

Yang also hit the headlines in January, when he fought with a student who left his classroom without his consent during a lecture.

His behaviour prompted a series of negative comments on teachers' ethics on Chinese websites.

"I wouldn't like to study under any one of those professors. They don't deserve the reputation of famous scholars," read a posting on sina.com, one of China's major portals.

The Ministry of Education has issued ethics guides for primary and middle school teachers, but no guides for college teachers.

"Both college teachers and students should be advised to avoid plagiarism," said Zhang Li, an official with the ministry. "This is one of the basic academic rules."

The China Youth Daily and Tencent, another major Internet portal, conducted an online survey asking people's opinions on how such incidents affect the public.

About 41.3 percent of the 7,327 people surveyed said they took a constant interest in issues related to teacher ethics, while another 48.1 percent followed occasionally.

The survey showed that 61.9 percent felt that "teachers should have higher moral standards than ordinary people".

Experts said an increasing number of disputes as well as complaints from the public were largely due to the social and general education environments.

An exam-oriented education system tended to neglect the cultivation of a well-rounded personality, said Zhang Zhiyong, deputy director of the education department of Shandong Province.

"Unfortunately, teacher performance is often evaluated by exam grades," Zhang said.

He said high school teachers were not expected to cultivate their students' personalities, but to help them pass the national entrance examination and enter university.

A survey of 701 primary school teachers by Professor Li Hui, of Yunnan Normal University, found that about 60 percent of them felt burnt out, with urban teachers suffering more than those in suburban and rural areas.

More than 70 percent of respondents to Tencent's survey ascribed falling teacher ethical standards it to external factors.

Among them, 28.7 percent thought it was caused by "harmful effects of the social environment" and 25.6 percent attributed it to "defects in teacher evaluation and management", while 18.6 percent considered it the result of "low pay".

Only 26.5 percent said it was connected with "teacher quality and accomplishment", the survey showed.

"Concern for students", "being a role model" and "respecting and loving one's work" were considered the most important and basic moral qualities of teachers, the survey indicated.

(Xinhua News Agency October 23, 2008)