BEIJING, Sept. 18 (Xinhua) -- Chinese authorities have ordered mandatory background checks on candidates in teacher recruitments in kindergartens and primary and middle schools, and those who have sex-related crime records will be blacklisted.
Such people are also banned from obtaining a teaching qualification, according to a circular published on Friday, which was jointly issued by the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP), the Ministry of Education, and the Ministry of Public Security.
Shi Weizhong, a senior prosecutor with the SPP, said at a press conference that the new measures are meant to take precautions to prevent sexual violations against children from the root, considering the mental profiles and the high recidivism rate among relevant convicts.
Such regulations also apply to the recruitment of other faculties, including administrative staff, and odd-job and security personnel in such institutions.
Universities, and after-school education institutions, should also take relevant measures accordingly, the circular said.
The circular required education authorities to enhance checks on current school staff.
The SPP said relevant regulations have been piloted by local authorities in regions such as Zhejiang, Shanghai, and Chongqing, and turned out to be effective.
With the establishment of a nationwide mechanism, the information sharing of relevant criminal records will also be available across the country, fixing previous loopholes in this regard, the SPP noted.
The SPP said the three departments are also planning to work on similar regulations in some other sectors that have close contacts with juveniles to build an all-round protection network for minors. Enditem
