Ministry issues anti-graft notice for college faculty

College and university faculty will be strictly forbidden from taking advantage of school or public resources to run companies, according to a notice released by the Ministry of Education recently.

The ministry said it would strengthen the management of State-owned assets in colleges and universities, as a way to prevent officials and staff from embezzling public property or seeking personal gain.

The notice was released on the basis of a five-year work plan to punish and prevent corruption in all regions and fields of China, which was released by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China in December.

The ministry also required in the notice that any school, department or teaching staff of higher education institutions must never abuse school resources to run private enterprises or engage in private business.

Anyone that causes loss to schools by violating the regulation or failing to adequately manage or supervise school assets will be published, the ministry said in the notice.

The ministry said corruption cases in higher education institutions, some of which have extremely adverse impacts on the society, are still frequently reported and exposed, and the ministry will make efforts in the next four years to eliminate them.

Hu Ruiwen, a member of the National Education Advisory Committee, said that in China higher education institutions are allowed to combine research and production, which means there are some university-run companies putting the results of research into practice.

"But these enterprises may also leave space for embezzling public property and corruption," he said, adding that faculty members' improper engagement in business may also affect teaching at the institute.

"In that sense, the Ministry of Education is taking the right step by cracking down on actions that take advantage of public assets to seek personal gain, rather than for the interest of the school," he said.

Apart from a better management of school assets, the notice also mentioned other aspects considered crucial to anti-corruption activities in colleges and universities, such as the election of school officials, student recruitment, the supervision and management of education funds and infrastructure construction.

Different measures will be taken in these sectors to fight corruption and ensure a clean atmosphere on campus, the ministry said.