TAIPEI, Taiwan - A provision to crack down on educators involved in sexual assault scandals with students was revised by the Legislative Yuan yesterday, giving students an additional layer protection. The new policy will speed up investigations of teachers who are alleged to have sexually assaulted a student and to amplify punishments for such crimes.

Under the new procedure, teachers accused of sexually assaulting a student must be suspended from the classroom right away, and the time to investigate the case is being shortened to one month from the time of reporting.

If the individual is found guilty, schools must either discontinue the teacher's contract and terminate them and disqualify them from future hiring, or suspend them.

The revised policy incorporates four resolutions to reduce incidents of sexual assault. The resolutions include: a proposed change to law #31 of the Gender Equality Education Act; punishment of school officials who have ignored a reported sexual assault case; and training of professional investigators by the Ministry of Education to assist in school sexual assault cases.

The legislative councilor who drafted the new provision stressed its significance, saying the new law could help students who have been victimized by a teacher to avoid long-term psychological effects.