Thaindian News

Beijing, Dec 13 (IANS) China has barred teachers from using harsh language and words that may belittle students.

The Ministry of Education has published a series of professional standards for teachers in kindergartens, primary schools and middle schools, including the ban on harsh language and words.

The draft of the professional standards also asks teachers to effectively communicate with their students and establish positive teacher-student relationships, reported Xinhua.

The standards will attach a special emphasis on teachers’ moral performance and ethics, according to a statement posted on the ministry’s website Tuesday.

The professional standards say that the teachers should always be student-oriented, regard the lives and safety of their students as a top priority and acquire the necessary knowledge and skills to deal with possible emergencies.

The standards for primary school teachers require them to protect students’ interests and encourage their curiosity. For middle school teachers, the standards require them to encourage students to think independently and promote the students’ ability to innovate.

The draft was prepared hearing the opinions of 1,000 experts, school and kindergarten principals and teachers.

China issued a code of ethics for primary and middle school teachers in 2008, asking teachers to “take care of their students’ safety”.

The code was created after a heated public debate about teacher-performance triggered by Fan Meizhong, a middle school teacher in southwest China’s Sichuan province. The teacher ran to save his own life when an 8.0-magnitude earthquake struck Wenchuan county May 12, 2008, leaving his students behind in the classroom.