A national supervision committee has been set up by the Ministry of Education to curb violations of academic rights in social sciences, officials said yesterday.

The move follows the issuing of a professional code of conduct for natural scientists by the Chinese Association of Science and Technology on Wednesday.

"Plagiarism and fake research have become rampant in China, and are eroding people's trust in academia," committee director Zhang Qizhi, said at a press conference in Beijing.

"The launch of the committee may help supervise academic corruption and misconduct in social sciences by working out the relevant rules and regulations," said Zhang.

The committee, which consists of 30 scholars from more than 20 colleges and other learning institutions nationwide, will set detailed rules on the criteria and punishment for academic violations, as well as investigating some cases, added Zhang.

Violators will face administrative punishments including dismissal, and could even be brought to trial depending on the circumstances, said Education Minister Zhou Ji at a ministry meeting on Tuesday.

"Candidates cannot be promoted or awarded if academic misconduct is found," he stressed.

The ministry's decision has received a warm welcome from academics.

He Weifang, a law professor at Peking University, said he was happy to see the committee established, but said all checking procedures must be transparent.

He also said the committee should not replace committees set up by individual schools, as "administrative powers should not interfere too much in academic circles."

(China Daily May 26, 2006)