A set of 14 metrics to assess teachers, issued by Wuhan University of Science and Technology Zhongnan Branch, has become a hot topic recently.

The 14 metrics to assess teachers, issued by Wuhan University of Science and Technology Zhongnan Branch, have aroused heated debate over teachers' professional ethics and competence. Nevertheless, what lies behind this debate is a critical fact: we lack specific standards to regulate teachers'professional qualities, Xinhua News Agency reported.

Harassing students, just reading from the textbooks at class, and taking a perfunctory attitude towards students'homework will all be considered evidence of unprofessional behavior. Teachers violating any standard will be judged as unqualified and be subject to punishment.

Many of the teachers in the University's Zhongnan Branch said they felt pressured because the metrics link their performance to control and appraisal that could not only influence their income and reputation, but might also cost them their jobs.

In contrast to the reaction of teachers, students and their parents welcome the measures. Mrs Liu, the mother of a student, was quoted as saying that this approach shows that the university is taking a responsible attitude towards students.

Some students said that the standards made teachers realize that they would lose their jobs if they neglect their work. "An irresponsible teacher might possibly destroy a student's life," said a student from Wuhan University of Technology.

"Every element has been discussed seriously by relevant departments, so they are based on wide review," said Wu Kaisheng, deputy president of Wuhan University of Science and Technology Zhongnan Branch. "Growth in higher education has tended to bring down university standards. People are worrying that the quality of education in universities might suffer," Wu added.

"Compared with institutions of higher education in western countries we are lagging behind in the management of teachers'class behavior and in the standardization of teachers'professional ethics," Xiao Cuixiang, an associate research fellow from Zhongnan University of Economics and Law noted. "Colleges and universities should draw up rules and regulations based on their own features," he added.

Wu Kaisheng said that it is necessary for educational departments to draw up a set of specific and relevant regulations to standardize teachers' professional ethics and competence.

(China.org.cn by Xiang Bin, July 3, 2008)