China - MOE urges teachers to avoid romantic affairs with students

Teachers should avoid having romantic relationships with their students since it is a violation of professional ethic codes, Minister of Education Wu Ching-ji said yesterday.

"It is a general belief that, because of the unequal power relationship between instructors and their students, the two parties should not engage in romantic relationships," said Wu yesterday during a legislative session.

For the benefit of both sides, a pupil should be transferred from the teacher's class once such relationship occurs, Wu added.

Such prohibition on romances between faculties and students in campuses are quite common in foreign countries, Wu said.

Similar regulations can be found in education institutions in the United States and the United Kingdom, he added.

In UK, for instance, many colleges have stipulated that once a teacher is found having an affair with his or her students, the situation needs to be reported to the dean and the student in question has to be transferred to another class.

The rule also applies to affairs between faculty who has direct supervisory responsibilities for a graduate student, the minister added.

Wu made the comments amid a newspaper report that the Ministry of Education (MOE) had recently asked local schools from primary, secondary and higher education levels to officially ban teacher-student love affairs.

Those teachers who violate the rule could be fired as a punishment, said in the Chinese-language United Daily news report yesterday.

In response, Wu said that such ban only applies to schools on primary and secondary levels. The MOE has prohibited such relationships for students under the age of 18.

But for college and university students above 18, the MOE's suggestion is that such romantic affairs should be avoided, he said.

However, ruling Kuomintang lawmaker Yang Chiung-ying asked Wu how the MOE could impose such ban on adult undergraduate and graduate students who are all adults and old enough to make own judgments.

In return, Wu said he would ask each universities to set up its rule and would suggest the school authorities to step in once such situations are found in campus.

Education more important than prohibition

Meanwhile, The National Teachers' Association yesterday said proper education is more important than simply imposing a ban on teacher-student love affairs.

NTA Secretary-General Wu Chung-tai told reporters that many students at one time could mistakenly believe he or she has fallen in love with their teachers because of admiration at a young age.

The MOE should offer proper education instead of using an official rule to curb such behavior, he noted.

The China Post/Asia News Network

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