BEIJING — The Ministry of Education has called for regulations on postgraduate student enrollment, academic essays evaluation and degree-awarding to be strictly observed by higher education institutions.

The enrollment of students in postgraduate programs must be conducted in accord with the country’s policies and regulations, admitting only candidates who stand out and setting no limits as to from which organization, which sector, which region, which school he or she comes, according to a directive issued by the ministry recently.

Channels should be available for students to register their inquiries or appeals, and appeals or reports about enrollment results should be handled and investigated in a timely manner in accordance with regulations, the directive notes.

Calling for greater attention to ensure strict compliance of regulations governing the evaluation of academic essays and the awarding of degrees to postgraduate students, the official document says arrangements should be in place to ensure students deemed not suitable to continue their degree drop out of the program in a timely manner.

The ministry called for improving mechanisms for preventing and punishing academic misconduct and vowed “zero tolerance” for academic misconduct and paper plagiarism.