BEIJING - China has issued a guideline to strengthen the professional ethics of teachers, according to the Ministry of Education (MOE) on Monday.

With 15 measures in five aspects, the guideline puts professional ethics as the most important criterion in evaluating teachers, in an effort to raise teachers' ethics and virtues, and encourage public respect for educators and public support for education, said Ren Youqun, an official with the MOE, at a press conference.

Violators of the professional ethics will face severe punishments and serious violations will result in a lifetime ban from teaching, according to Ren.

The guideline was jointly issued by seven administrative departments, including the MOE, the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security.