Officials take on academic misconduct

Students who cheat on dissertations will be added to social credit system

Postgraduate students who commit fraud in their graduation dissertations will be recorded in the national social credit system, a new guideline said on Tuesday as the country aims to further strengthen the quality of its postgraduate education to cultivate more high-level talent.

The guideline, jointly issued by the Ministry of Education, the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Finance, asked universities and research institutes to intensify their efforts to crack down on academic misconduct.

Academic integrity should be an important part of postgraduate education and training for supervisors, and dissertation writing guidance should be compulsory for all students, the guideline said.